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1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


150     '■^" 


2.5 

iiiiii 

1.8 


U    IIIIII.6 


* 

/;" 

0 

PhotDgraphic 

Sciences 

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Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notaa  tachniquas  at  bibliographiquas 


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D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  demaged/ 


Couverture  andommag^a 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurie  at/ou  palliculAe 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

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D 
D 
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mais.  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
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T 
ti 


n 


Coloured  pages/ 
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r~l    Showthrough/ 


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Transparence 

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Comprond  du  materiel  suppl^mentaira 

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obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


T 

P 
o 
fi 


G 
b 
ti 

si 
o 

fi 

si 
o 


11 

si 

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IVI 
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er 
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rT7\    Additional  comments:/ 


Commentaires  suppldmantaires; 


Wrinkled  pages  may  film  slightly  out  of  focus. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  tha  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  da  rMuction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 

IPX  14X 18X 22X 

I  in  ^     i  \    i 


26X 


30X 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


l>i«  copy  filmed  h«r«  has  bMn  reproduced  thanks 
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L'exemplaire  filmA  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
ginirositi  de: 

D.  B.  Weldon  Library 
University  of  Western  Ontario 
(Regional  History  Room) 

Lee  imagee  suh/antes  ont  «t«  reproduites  avec  le 
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de  la  nettet*  de  l'exemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformity  avec  lea  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

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par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derni^re  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  lee  autres  exempiaires 
originaux  sont  filmte  en  commen9ant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinve 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  d(ds  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derniAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
caa:  le  symbols  — ^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  ie 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Lee  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  htra 
filmte  A  dee  taux  de  rMuction  diff«rents. 
Lorsque  ie  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  film*  d  partir 
de  I'angle  sup^rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  baa,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nteessaire.  Les  dlagrammes  suivants 
iilustrent  la  m^thode. 


1  2  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

.* 


FIFTY  YEABS'  REMINISCENCES 


OF 


NEW-YORK; 


OR, 


FLOWERS  FROM  THE  dARDEN  OF  LAURIE  TODD. 


f^^^r)^     .^v^^--^^^/ 


^^r<^^        ^^T^f^-^uA^rt^ 


Bl 


/^/ 


r*~ 


FIFTY    YEARS' 

REMINISCENCES  OF  NEW-YORK 


OR, 


^3.t>wmsiM  wmm  ^mm  ©^m^mss 


OF 


r    ^  LAURIE    TODD:^ 

T^E  NEWSPAPERS  AND  PERIODICALS  OF  THE  DAY 
FOR  THE  LAST  THIRTY  YEARS ; 

INCLUDING, 

iJ!.^  OF  THE  WAR  OF  THE  RKVOLUTION 
&C.  &C.  &C.  «fec. 

OBTAINED   FROM   ACTORS    XN    THE    S       .E8. 


BY  GRANT  THORBURN. 


NEW- YORK  • 

pub;..shed..by  daniei,  ^nshaw,  575  broabwav 

OPPOSITE  NIBIO'S  OJ«DEN. 


D.  FaoibaT?   » 


I  •  Huicr. 


i^Hb" 


^d  .ccordtog  to  Act  of  Congren,  to  th,  y.„  „f  „„  1,0^  1845  t. 


•^, 


TO 


THE     WIDOW 


1 1845,  by 
lie  South- 


OF  THE  LATE 

MAJOR-GENERAL  ALEXANDER  HAMILTON. 

Respected  Madam, 

Without  thy  knowledge,  and  without  asking  thy  permis 
s.on,  have  I  dedicated  this  book  to  thee. 

When  I  thin-:  of  thy  late  venerated  husband  (once  mv 
personal  faend)  defending  with  his  pen  the  right  f  Zl 
adopted  countnr  in  the  1 7tT.  ,r.       ri,-  ^  ^ 

dent  in  Tnl      K     I  ?.         ^  ''  ''^  ^''  ^S^'  ^^i^e  yet  a  stu- 
aent  m  Columbia  College  TST   v  .       i.      t    , . 
drnwm„  V,-  .  ^o^ege,  j\.   r.  ;~when  I  think  of  him 

heard  hi^       n         ?  ''  °*^ '"'"  ^  ^  h"™  s«en  and 

qum  i    ,h  ""'  "  *^  ^"'  '^^^-'^  -"h  his  elo- 

Th^  I Tnl    ;r'  °'  *^  '^^  ""'^  °^*«  oppres^d;- 
When  I  thmk  of  him  as  the  bosom  friend  of  G  J~.  "A 

-*^  and  John  Jay-an  honor  in  itself  enough  fJaly 


«x^ 


OXDJCATION. 


""-I  «ay,  Madam,  when  I  think  of  .!,.«  .i.-         . 

wa.to™  r      T  ^*'  *'  •'»»'"""'  of  thy  youth 

--nent  of  do;  L'^h*^:  -" '"'"'  "^  »""'  *ee  U.e 

give  nor  take  awav  ^S  ^""'^^  "^^^  "««^w 

-.™.  ca.t,nT  plroH^h"  "•;  r  ^'"'"  '-• 


/fei».ror*,i,tAufuit,  1645. 


Qrawt  TnoMURif. 


things,  tho 
ars. 

at  '^od  if 
rough  the 
ly  youth, 
^  he  hae 
)  thee  the 


ung  days 
n  neither 
vhen  the 
'  in  the 


lUKir. 


CONTENTS. 


Prefsce,   .         . 

Fifty  year.'  Wandering,  of  an  Emigran't,  No.'  1. 
Fifty  year.'  Wandering,  of  an  Emignu..,  No.  2.  . 
A  Funeral  at  Sea, 

Rjght.ofWomen,  No.  1. 
Right,  of  Women,  No.  2. 
The  Devil'.  Church, 

Reminiacence.  of  Thomaa  Paln«, 
Cheap  Time.,  ... 

The  Horse  and  hi.  Rider, 

The  Gene.ee  Giri  and  her  little  Red  Boik, 
YeUow  Fever  from  1735  to  1822, 

Aunt  Schuyler'.  Grave. 

w»ham  Bread  again, 

Anecdote  of  Mr..  Baron  Muie,      *        *.     *        ' 

Men  and  Manner,  in  England.  *        *        " 

Obituary,         .         .         .  '         '         '         * 

Anecdote  of  George  Thomp.on'the  Aboliti^ni-t,'  ,        .  13a 

On  the  U«  of  Tobacco,  ...  ,^ 

Reminiwence.  of  Trinity  Church, 

The  Grave  in  the  Orchard,  '         '        *        '        '        ' 

The  LoweU  Offering,  , 

Tale,  of  the  Pri.on-Suear'houJ-T  L    '     *   *        *        * 

dotcoftheRevolutiot  ''•*^"  "'  ^• 

Letter  of  the  Baron,  and  pLnU  nf  cu  ",    /        *        '        *     "^ 
Man^aret  and  the  Minister  ZlI^':"^'''  ''  ^'^  ^'^'  "2«'  ''^ 

-founded  on/Crrl'^^'"^^  -0  Scotch  Storie., 

.185 


Paf*. 

9 

.  IS 

tr 


4f 
.69 
H 
.74 
88 
,    87 
M 

tu 

116 

128 
1S8 
130 
134 


148 
152 
187 

163 


8 


CONTENTS. 


Christmas  and  New  Year's  Day 
Reminiscences  of  the  City-Hotei      '         '         '        ' 
Oid  Ws ;  or  Re„.iniscences  of  Nevv-York'         '         * 
AV,sutoMrs.Grant,ofLa,,an,  ''     '         * 

The  K,ng  and  his  Scotch  Cook,  *        '        *        • 

■Rtdes  on  Lona  Island,  .  '        *         '         • 

An  Apology  for  the  Friends  or  T*-k      *         '        '        ' 
Romance  in  Real  Life,  i:;';';^"'"^^^^-^^      • 

Romance  in  Real  Life,  No.  2.     *        '        *        *        • 
Traditions  of  the  War  of  aL  *  •       .  ' 

^  thew.ofa;itrr:;s^^^^^^ 

Solomon  and  the  Queen  of  Sheba  ^'"^^^'        ' 

The  Middle  Dutch  Church  '  '        *        •        • 

Merchants  of  New-York,  1774    '        *        '        *        ' 
A  Bone  to  Gnaw,       .  '**•.. 

John  Gait,  *        *        ' 

Diet  and  Health,         .     *         * 

Stocking  Knitting,       '*'*•.. 

^'*,7"="^«'»«"' Kxtraordinar,  '         '        *        '         '         • 
*«"t « Laurie  Todd,        .  *        *        •        . 


201 
.    209 
212 
.    215 
•       219 
.    224 
226 
.    230 
234 
from 

•  242 
256 

•  258 
261 

•  265 
270 

.    274 

278 
.    283 

286, 


Page, 
201 
.    209 
212 
.    215 
•        219 
.    224 
226 
.    230 

234 

t  from 

•  242 
256 

•  258 
261 

•  265 
270 

.    274 

278 
.    283 

28G, 


1:14 


i'J 


'.« 


PREFACE. 


mirror  r"^  ^""^  ^ """''  '"*»  ™p°«»-ed  by 

many  [on  whose   opinion  in  tl,is  matter  I  olace  . 

o:^ti:r  T"  ^"  -^  ^--^  ^^  -•>-  *:^  -h 

XaTa  .'  ^      "'^  '^^  "^  "•«"«"«  «  *e  peri- 
od,  s  ana  pape.  of  the  day  for  the    pa.t  tLty 

manvoffK^        i      '"ence,  i  came  m  contact  with 

eXhf:iraf:°r':::;rrr^'"^^'-^«^- 

^iberty..ree,  wher:rt:een   nToLt  ""T  ^" 
and  Broadway.  I  remain!   f  -S^"^-**"** 

there  was  not  a  s„T     1      "^  y^"^''  P"''''^ 
American  Tr^sol^     Z  *'  "°"*'»^'"  '^•■"^  *« 

«veyea:rosr;a^;'-;^-^orthe«„. 

monthly,,  and  as  time  wore  oT the      "       ''   "''° 
and  far  betw„„„.  .:,.    ?  ^.°°'  **"•  '■«•«»  were  few 


•^'ween;  till,  durine  the  1„. 


aiOiv^^«Fk     — .^^. 


wvTTCM 


jrCiiTS 


10 


PREFACE. 


them  as  they  deserr'dl  the         """''^  "^^^^  ^""^ 

lumber  m  some  miserable  garret  nr  K  j 
pressed  a  *oM,-er',  ^„^.  _t  „  ^*"^''  "'^  ^ad 
times  from  pity   fforl  ,    ^''^'  ""''^'^'  ""-"e- 

-.^  aometS  £:::!;;   'J- -emaimedO 

w  a  civil  way  to  rt<.-  ^'       '"""'"'"ce  »yself 

'ook  them  ilTp     :  ::  7-'  "f  S  -angers.  I 

their  hattles  over  agaif.^::?/!  ^^^  f  '^'"'"/ 
But  the  Sugar-house  is  gone    Z  ^^^  ''"^"'^• 
generations   unborn   will   sTarch  7    '      '  P"^'- 
-re  than  «„.,,„.„,,  .^^^''J- /^^^   -tl 
foMd ;  however,  I  can  c^.,  '"  °°'  ''^ 

^''^'^^.-Z,- have  done  21        "^  •"'"''='^'"=«  "^ 'he 

''^''-;ietothrd?th::er"""'"''^^°'"~' 
p-.eroV;r:j;;^^^^^^ 

°f  pains   and  sufferin  '^""''''  '°  ^''enes 

-»>.•  forinstan  e      T  """'  '°  '"""  "^  '''^ 
-on  in  September  , for  7  """'^  ""«  ''°'  «««- 

W*  -ife   and   child    all   th         ,"  '"^''  "  '"^"' 

'Wht  the  hours  o/th    p  ;:;     '  °"   "^   ^^"^  ' 

Paients  were  numbered;  as 


PREFACE. 


11 


Jed-the.r  ,p,„.s  had  fled-the  child  striving  to  draw 

hfefro«theco,db™a.tofit.dead.other,.Lch;i 
was  taken  care  of,  and  the  parents  buried-  the 
BardofHealth  did  every  thing  in  their  pow  rt 

r  I  st"  "  T  '""""  '°  *«  ^"-^  °^  HeaJh. 
A«gu.e,  ,8«.  ^"^'  TaoEBtmi,. 


HI 


g 


''m 


REMINISCENCES 


OP 


GRANT   THORBURN 


Fifty  YeaM»  WanderlnKS  of  an  EmiRranl. 

No.  1. 

^  "  Experiencfl  is  hy  industry  achieved, 

*'  And  perfected  by  the  swift  course  of  time." 

This  day  completes  fifty  years  since  I  first  step- 
ped on  shore,  from  the  good  ship  Providence,  lyine 
at  the  foot  of  Governeur's  wharf. 

When  we  sailed  from  Scotland  the  mountains 
were  covered  with  snow;  when  we  dropped  anchor 

T°^T,     !  "'''  Fly-market,footofMaiden.Iane,  June 
19,  1794,  the  small  ferry  boats  were  passing,  filled  to 
the  gunwale  with  baskets  of  cherries.     I  thought  I 
had  dropped  into  a  New  World  indeed.    It  was  on  a 
Monday  moraing,  10  a.  m.  ;  the  sun  shone  bright     I 
was  wonderfully  pleased  with  the  clean  appearance 
of  the  cartmen-having  that  morning  put  on  their 
newly  washed  frocks.    I  thought  these  men  must  be 
we  1  paid  for  their  labor,  and  know  how  to  take  care 
ot  their  money  when  earned.    Their  horses,  too,  in 
general,  were  more  like  the  huntino.  hr.r,«.  T  u.a 


-s.    '2aiz 


14 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


seen  in  Scotland,  than  liV^  ^ 
">en  at  that  ti«e  were  a     1^™^  '"'"^^    ^he  car- 
number  I  observed  on  th    tTrnt"-    ^'u'  '''«''^»' 
came  to  the  cit,.  .^s  tl^ee "undre""  T^  ^''^"  ' 
"nly  one  brick  store  nn  fi,         ""°ared.    There  was 

that  stood  on  the  corneVof  T'  ""'  °^  *«  "'y-  -<» 
neurWane.  South-s"  re!t »      ^"^""'■""'  """^  ^over- 
^harve,   were  2;'^  tH  ""'    ""''''  ^ ^^'^  ^be 
-iled  a  few  day^  ^ei'lT  /"'"  ""^^  "^'^ 
-ade  the  wL  LirW^JrV  "'"^  ^ 
previous  to  this,  those  v^n.^M     ^"    '-^  '^"^  '^®«'fs 
Dutch  Church  i;  Nassau  str,    '''"'  '"^^°"'  "'■"'« 
were  then  about  as  thi^t  "'^'^  ?'"'"«''•   They 

">onths- embargo  iJ'irr'^'^'™-^    ^  '''^^^ 
'he  shipping  wasr;rorraiw"«^.-''a« 

twenty-five  dollars  cer  m^Tu    ^t  "^^S^^  ^ere 

were  loaded   S^^f      p^°''  "''  *«'  ^^'^^'^ 
The  revolution  ifprtTe  wa^  ^1^  ^"^'^"''-  " 
the  war  between  Englandrd  P,»  ^  "^"y-  """^ 

ed.    But  to  return  to  W  16     fsZ'T  "■"""""=- 
has  happened  to  myself  nr  f     .  t^OMeth.ng  notable 

on  eve^y  16th  ofTune  ir;'^' °'  '°  *«  ?""-' 
commission  to  hold  the  offi       ;  /      ""Stance:  My 
let's  Cove  is  dated  tnerfsa^T  "  «^' 
June,  1806.  the  almost  tot»1  1  r^  *^  "*  "^ 
place.    Bonaparte  hni  v  '^'^  °^  '^^  «un  took 

day.  and  w^yTouSd  "t"  I  ^        '^^^  '^'  ""'^^ 
-efr-of  ^J:/ -  — nee  at  that 

-  --"^ed  by  .J,  t:2i„r/x^4;p 


GRANT   THORBURN.  jc 

inquiring  for  letters,  friends,  and  servants.    I  asked 

torZ^LT^^"!-  """^  '■'""■'''''  sot  up  a  machine 
tor  cutting  nails  from  iron  hoops  " 

ClUh!"!  """  ""  d/^'h-blow  to  my  hopes  at  once. 
Clothing  excepted,  my  stock  in  trade  consisted  only 
of  my  nail  hammer  in  my  clothes-chest,  and  an  Eng- 
hsh  sixpence  ,„  my  pocket.  The  captain  and  crew 
went  on  shore  ,„  the  boat,  as  likewise  did  all  thi 
passengers,  I  only  excepted;  and  not  having  ^y 
money  to  spend  I  thought  I  might  as  welf  staj 
where  I  was.  On  the  passage,  having  nothing 
wherewith  to  kill  time,  I  was  in'the  habit'of  aS 
•ng  the  steward,  and  thereby  came  in  for  a  portion 
oScahnfare;  thus  I  lived  as  well  by  paying  six 

^th  h  "■  .  fi'  ""P."""  ■""'""'^^  °°  ^»^'  bringing 
ToL^  V  A  "  P'^'"  °^  ^^^^'  ^Wch  he  ordered 
cooked  for  dinner.    While  I  sat  on  the  deck,  help. 

ng  to  get  ready  the  vegetables,  a  boat  came  Sg 
One  asked  for  a  servant  girl,  another  for  a  plough 

"  I  am  a  nail-maker,  sir." 

•ny  knlfs'T.r'''  ''"='''  ^'*  '  '"'•S"  ^'«'"  •'«'^««n 
'ny  Knees,  peahng  potatoes. 

'    x.e,  iuOKiiig  aown, 


nails  ? 


can  you  make 


■i-.TT'  ■»'■ 


16 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


that  I  would  make  more  naL  n^a  h!     Il    "^  '""=''^ 
in  the  country."  "  ^"^  "•*"  ^°y  "»" 

in  Itrotwhf  "r"""^^'  ^^'  the  gentleman 
card,  and  I  weft  f'  TT''  ^'  ^ave  me  his 
hour;  thoreaC!  "°*  '"^  '""  ""  '-"'yf-r 

«.ates  in  Lert^^^itd  ir  '^''"^r'  '^"" 
covering  prior  to 'this.  When  th  v  w""  "'V'"-^ 
put  on  the  slates  thoy  could  nnffl,  f  '"'""'^  '" 
one  who  could  make  Te™  fort ,""''' ""^  ""^ 
fashion,  and  American  „  Zs'  Wwno:  T"  ""'  ■"" 
slate  nails  •  thev  <"im„  ,  •,  f  ''"^ '°  ""ake 

thought  I  vlXmr^' ""' ^  "''''<' '•'«"'•  ^-w 

-a  tit  I  n^igiir;  sXTemnn"':,  •''^  ^r- 

country.  About  twenty-fife  years  .i"  ft  '  ""'°''"" 
-g  the  hotel,  I  saw  them  remoWn'  ^irl":' '"  P"''" 
on  a  new  roof:    I  went  un  n„  J  ^  !         "'^^  '°  P"' 
"f  n,y  nails,  and  nowL/them  f^    "t'  "  '"'"'''' 
November  it  will  be  fiftV  "?  ''""'e-   Next 

were  made.    aT  thltflj  'T'''  T"'''  '""^^  "-"'« 

Ws  Chapel  was  Z:^,::^  '"^  ^"^'"^  "^  «'■ 

-let:  ,!:::'2  vs:  ?  t-^«  --  -  ^^ « ^^^h- 

Tho  weather  was    ery  .o."'    d  !  sT'  '''"/''  '""' 
^vith  the  window  open     Abnnf  ?  ,'"  ""'  S''^'-'"- 

•^-er  and  rain  tre:enlt;;nSt,t:X^^^^ 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


17 


IZf  fr^K  '"  '^'  "'^"^  Bhingles-the  constant 
blazo  of  hghtmng-with  the  crashing  roar  of  thun 
der,  almost  scared  me  to  death.    Before  this  I  had 
never  been  twenty  miles  from  the  house  in  which  I 
was  born.    In  Scotland  we  have  no  shingle  roofs,  no 
such  heavy  rain,  no  such   blazing  lightning,   loud 
thunder,  or  hot  nights;  besides,   there     were   mos 
quitoes,  bugs   and  fleas,  with   all  the   plagues    of 
Egypt  at  their  back.    I  wished  myself  /^ame  again 
1  slept  no  more  that  night,  but  kept  tossing  about  on 
a  straw  bed  spread  out  on  some  Albany  boards,  till 
daylight.    When  I  arose,  not  wishing  to  disturb  the 
family  at  3  o'clock,  I  thought  to  while  away  the  time 
by  opening  my  large  case  of  books.    They  had  been 
three  .months    in    the    hold   of  the   vessel,    and   I 
thought  they  might  be  mildewed.    Having  uncover- 
ed the  case,  on  the  top  of  the  pile  lay  a  small  pocket 
Jiible  m  two  volumes.    It  was  placed  there  by  the 
hands  of  my  father— my  mother  I  never  knew     I 
opened  the  book  to  see  if  it  had  sustained  any  dam- 
age  on  a  three  months'  voyage  ;  my  eyes  fell  on  the 
words,  ''My  Son:*  I  was  thinking  of  my  father     I 
read  on  with  delight ;  having  finished  the  last  verse 
I  found  I  had  been  reading  the  third  chapter  of  the' 
Proverbs  of  Solomon.    I  read  it  again.    Now,  gentle 
reader,  get   a   Bible   and   read   this   chapter— then 
suppose  yourself  in  my  situation— sore  in  body,  sick 
at  heart,  and  commencing  life  among  a   world  of 
strangers- and  say  if  words  more  suitable  could  be 
put  together  to  fit  my  case.    You  may  think 


vr»ii 


18 


REMINISCENCES    OP 


g 


"oul :  my  sick  heJd  aL  «"«  bon^f    """«"'  '"  "' 
^.e  impression.    I  went  ZlZ^XlT'  '' 

"Oh  !"  said  thev  *']«f'c  t 

"■ke  a  stroll  in  th7fields     0°  't  ^°::^  ^''^'"^'  """J 
ercise  after  being  so  lon^  .     «     !*'*  '"■5"''''»  «^- 

"  You  may  go^where  !n    1""^  °"  «hip-boara." 
go  to  Church     tITIT  please,"  said  I,  "but  I 

-e  parted  on  the  shore  oS  "^  "'""''  ^P°'"''  - 
ber  the  Sabbath  day'  ,lf'°"'*"'^'  ^•«».  'Komem- 
his  words  I"  ^"     ^ '"""^  "°' so  soon  forgotten 

Some  of  them  earL  niC and^^  e^'dol''^  ^'^'^• 
~l  only  received  five  and  a  hi  Tl,  '  ^  ""^"^ 
^  '-ght  wagon,  drive  off  with  L  ^^  ""'"'''  ^«' 
spend  five  or  six  dollars,  ge  tcauT '^"""l '''''^''• 
shower-fine  clothes  „^A  u  T  '"  «  thunder- 
home  half  drunk  rile  at  8  n'  ^i '"  tP°''«'3-oome 
"g  with  aching  hoZ   Ml  f  1  °"  ^°"<^«y  »orn. 

-J  guiUy  confience   r;i  7o  ^''°T-'  'oo^a 

went  to  Church,  rose  at  5 


GRANT   THORBURN.  jn 

This  summer    the    weather    was    very    hot      I 

vSe  firr  T'  'r  ■"  '"'^  oountri^wtrLg 

soon  ^lTS°      T"'"'^  '"  ^""^  ^-""^  "g^i"  "B 
soon  as  I  had  saved  money  enough  to  pay  my  pas- 

same   place    thr^!  '^""'  '"'"'■•  '""^  "'  "'« 

st'zr  f :■  ^-^^™^  3eti:„tfx 

Bome  tir    ^  ?  '°  ^""'y  ""  *«  ""o^ing     For 
Bome  time  I  met  her  almost  every  other  day  L  two 

to  ..e™S';„d  ir  soir  """'''  ''  '-'"^  - 
Shortly  after  this,  the  cut-nails 


cut  down  m 


V  UrnnrAo 


:iO 


nBMINlscBNCBS  OP 


sI'Ut  "P,  and  then  I  hJ  ,    ^°  ''a'-'<"'are  shops 

ing  nai,:  «>r  t^e  offintalrl  ""  '  "=°""  "»  "■''^■ 
in  Warren-streei  mn.  ,  f"  ^  '='"T«'««'-  residing 
fever  prevai  ed  in  ™  t^  ""'  ^'"''^  "™«  ^^^ile  thf 
boards'^ HlhadalhTh?  '"'""  '""'"  ^'"'-P-e 
on  which  he  p  aoei  hi  c"!  ""'^''?'  ^""^ '"''"  -''««'''. 
little  boys  Jsel  ato  Idt"'"  "  ''""  ^""'^  '''''  '-<> 
each;, topping  le^e  "„!'''"  '"''^'''  «  fourdoil... 

^ould  sing  „uf    ''Co^'TnT  °^'^'  '"'««"'■  'hey 

Remaining    ;  ehe  ctv   ,      ''"'  °'  ^"  ''-» '" 
valence  of  th^e  yel  ow  TverT^-  '"'''"  y^^"'  P--^- 
Bights  which  well  mlhr.h\  "'.""""^''  '"*'""  ""'l 
have  seen   the  babT«  the  stoutest  heart.    I 

;-st  onts  i"t:or;:i:;jr,r^ '-""  '"^ 

deserted  dwellinc-  an,l  4V ,    7^  ^""^  entered  a 

the  corpses  of  Ser  and         T  " '""'  '"  °"«  '^"^ 
'ay  three  children  a  ,ee„  ""''  '"  """"-^^  ™<"" 

Prom  July  29th  t  Nn  '^'  """""'^ous  of  their  loss. 

«and  seven  hund,ld  and""  "  ''''  "'^'  '^^  'hou- 
low  fever.  After  all  x„).       *"^7  P""""^  ^ied  ofyel- 

Health  caused  ;:  eltrt  ?'"'J'^''  "■«  ^""^  "f 
found  only  fifteen  thn?r  7    u^^  '"^^"^  ^^e™  it  was 
In  1823,  fronU    ;  ^h^o  n1   ".'"'  '^^'^  ''---''• 
'ireda„,  thirty-sirper^rof  t^  "'  ■''^^'"'=- 
About  this  timp  L,  •      ,  of  >eiH>w  fever. 

~  ofthe  cut.ni;  "ftardl"'  Z"''"'"'"'  ''^ 
^»  I  generally  attended  to  ^v  „      ?      ^™'="'"y'  ^^J 

•  '  •  ■■  on  in  a  thriving  ,^1%;"'!        "T'  ^''"'^'^  ^ 

o  "-ay.    1  h,s  being  observed  by 


ORAI^T    THOHBlTRJf.  jj 

wenced  the  naimin™  J  ^""'-  '"'""com- 

"elling  plant!   asTn„,    TA  ""t"'  ^"^  ""^  ""'  "™e. 
like  a^roso     I  ^d  the^        "''^  °'' "  '"^'■'  "  «-"«" 

T  even  know  there  was  a  geranium  in  ,  7?"^' 

gave  fifty  cents  for  the  nlnnt    nil     ,  """''''•    ^ 

green  fl„.er.p„ts,  and  se  Tt  on^h!  "  "  """  "'"^ 
attention,  not  with  thp  in,  •  .  "'""*"' '°  •'raw 
however  and  tl  p^  ^J^U  a^d"  '1'"' '  '  "  ""''' 
I.nade  twenty-riv":  J  t  £  "jav  T  ^  T'"''"" 
plants,  and  sold  those  also  tL  i  ^  ""-''"  '"'» 
celling  of  flowers  T,^v  ,?'  7  ^  <"""•"«•"  «<!  tho 
plants!  ofte„T;i,^r;„'  7  "f  ""T''  ""^"'S  "'<' 
"■enced  the  selling  ofteTs  '  "'"  """^  '  '''""■ 

we":nT;£:i;r„xt"^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

But  by  this'pro    Se  w"  r;"""""""  ""■''■'"•"""'• 
ever  planning  it)  inT„  "^  '""  ^"''""'"'  ^"X 

-.e.'and  a  ^^Z::^^^'  ""^  --' 

1  Will  no^vgro  baric    on^l     • 
im  and  doin^softh;        ^"■''  ■""  """">  "'""'e  say- 
years  ago.      °    ""^  '''''"  ^'-"  P«<'l-'e.  forty-nine 


22 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


In  the  winter  of  1794   fi,«  q.  ^    , 

their  session  i„  the  oH  Ci  v  H ',?       tv^"''""«  "'^''J 
Posite  the  head  of  Broli  »,^        I '"  W«"-«"-eet,  op- 

who  rowed  the   ferrvb„t/Vr^  "*'"'«  ■»«" 
Brooklyn  had  grosSr^X  tr^^^'^'-'^''^  »° 
«age.   The  man  was  tried  l  V      ^'y°'"  °"  ''"  P^"" 
-enty-five lashes  ZTst^lTTlf  "  '^''"'^^ 
Kettlelass,  or  some  suoh  „„         ^  "^'wyer  named 
before  the  House  ofTssembT;'     T^''  *^  '"^«- 
"ulted  the  house   and  Z,      ^  '"  ^''  'P^^"^  ^^  i"" 
'ogy;  this  hereLed    a^l  {7'""'  '°  "^''^  -  "P"" 
f  jail.  A  large  mS  hTa    t  ^  T '  '"r'  ''™ 
front  of  the  Hall,  and  the/ pTaeedT       '""''^  "" 
bottomed  chair,  and  earn  J  v^^,""  °"  ^  ''»»''- 
o'djaii  in  ChatLam  s  ™  o'V  •  ^^^'^'^'^^ '"  ">« 
Ped  opposite  the  house  of  the  Mlvor  r '^  "'^  ^'"P" 
Jng>  and  yelling  lite  fl,„  T  '  "^^'"^'  ^hoop- 

"extprop'osed'tfset  teTo^f  r  ■\^^™^  4 
Giles,  and  other  revolutionl    *^,'"'"^«-  b"t  General 

this  time,  by  f.nZtT7aT'"^''°'"'"S-P'^^ 
-;^themfromtheir;u:;i~\rrm;;: 

in  session  at  Philadplnl,-      •        ^°"S^ess  then  being 
before  them.  S  fe  "  ^'';.  >««ediataly  laid 

^''<'  -jority  of  the  1: 3:;^'';:;?^"''""' '"' 

words  and  wiped  the  blon,)     i''         ""^  "P  ""'''• 

theirbrowsafteracherinj^    •      "  «"'' ^^^eat  from 

"chiermg  the.r  country's  independ- 


^ 
^/^j 


GRANT  THOEBITRN.  „ 

ence,  thought  the  treaty  was  h.VJ,l„  ,j 

their  country  •  but ,},.     7        ^    ^  adrantageous  to 

and  cartme/thoult th  "'"'.  ''°'''"'"'  •^"'""«° 
ing  was  call  d  affou?;'■:T•/"°'■'';"^'y^"-*- 
deral  Hall,  on  the  hid  f  p  T'  °^  "'^  »"  F«- 
-ate  aga/nst  th^ra^g  0^:^^ 0^"-  '"  ~- 
Long  before  the  hour  the  broad  „n»T  '"'''^■ 
-otleygroup^therewas  S^^ 
powdered  with  lime  shirt  ,!»»,  '^borer,  his  face 
to  his  shouldere_ri  "rff^^^^^  torn  or  rolled  up 

the  boatmen  were  It  "^T,  "^'«  '"-.  -' 
there,  and  the  cartmen  w'e^i  TdT".""' 
were  there  •  and  tl,«  i,„  '      °  *""'  ""owes 

g^titnde  than"he  J 1^^''  T""'^ '°  P°««^^«  ""re 
that  fed  them    bu   the  '       '  f  ""'^  "''^^'^  ""^  '•»»<J 

they  liyed,  mUed    and  TT  ."'^  ""' "'" ''"  ^^^^ 
J        «,  moved,  and  had  their  ht^inn-     tu 

rolled  to  and  fro  like  the  wave!  of  th^"  o  ""'^ 
corner  of  Broad  an^  if  ii  '''®  °^a.   On  the 

ton.  Col.  VaS  g1!     ':?"■'?  ''""^  ^'''-  K™"- 

reyolutionary  officer,    ,hf  ^"7  '^"  ""^^  "^ '^-^ 

like  affection'^L  Srs   ,  eh  r.    '  °"  *^  ""'"""^^ 
frantic  tricks  of  til  ^^°^^'''S  with  sorrow  the 

of  the  H^Stooa  t^ror  "of  c^'lf  ^"Z  ^"  "'^  »'«P^ 
ter-looking  faces -iS  '  •=^<="lating,  sinis- 

could  readVeds'a^d  rnroTd'"-r  r '  '''"  ^o" 
political  intrigue  ZtXT^  Z''^'  ^^"^^  ^'"*  faring 
'"trigue,  CoXr  ''"'"'  "'"""^  """  ?"»»«  of 

toirtx^sTatt/rvn'^"^  "-^^  --y^ 

mand  c«n,>„i  ™!..  ..^  °i  WYorlj  could  not  com- 
""""••"  ^"""S"  '«  """^^  Ciinton's  canal  for  one 


24 


REMINISCENCES    OP 


hundred  years.   When  they  saw  it  finished  in  seven 

which  his  skill  and  perseverance  had  made  Thev 
cared  not  though  the  State  sank,  provided  they  liZ 
rise  on  its  ruins.  I  next  saw  them  as  drummer^  Zt 

ZZ  « thtt '°-  ^r  "^''^'^ ''"'  •'-"-i^-f 

reason,  at  the  time  she  was  trying  to  engage  all  the 

k.cfcmg  all  the  poor  old  revolutionary  officers  and 
soldiers  out  of  the  Custom-house,  Po'^^t-officr  and 
every  other  office,  that  they  and  their  ui^ 
political  swindlers  might  eat  a  piece  of  bread"  I 

wSrr.  '  ^T"/^.""-'  "^  *— for  death  ha 
woful  y  thmned  their  ranks-they  were  holding  a 
repeal  meeting  in  the  Park,  so  thai  they  might  calh 
a  few  Irish  (not  American)  votes.    Bm  if  fo'ow 

mfeting."    ^"^""^  P°''""'"''  ^  ^'^^  ^'™°''  ^-5°'  *«' 
A  tall  fellow  got  up-(I  have  known  him  ever 

er  of  public  good)-and  called  the  meeting  to  order 
He  might  as  well  have  told  Bunker's  Hill  to  remove 
into  the  deep  of  Montague  Point.    He  then  pr"pos 

Tnt  » u    '^^""'"^"-  ^"^^  "^'^  •>«  •'"gan  read- 

ing  a  paper  but  was  neither  heard  or  understood 
for  some  cried  one  thing,  and  some  another,  and  the 
greater  part  knew  not  for  what  they  had  iome  to! 
geher.  In  those  days  there  stood  an  old  Dutch 
house  Its  gable-end  to  the  street,  on  the  comer  of 
Broad  and  Wall-streets.  which  had  a  lnr.<,  =„.„!' 


GRANT  THORBORM. 


25 


th.s  stoop  Gen  Hamilton  stood,  and  began  to  speak 
m  defence  of  the  treaty.    His  clear  ful]  voice  sound 
ed  1  ke  music  over  the  heads  of  the  rabble,  and  fora 
while  they  stood  still.    Lowering  himself   omewha! 
from  h.s  natural  style  of  eloquence,  he  spoke  in  Ian 
guage  pla,n  and  s.mple,  suited  to  the  capacities  of 
h.s  hearers.    H^  words  were  true,  and  they  under- 
stood  them     They  were  cut  to  the  heart,  and  laTd 
violent  hands  upon  him  in  the  midst  of  hi^  speech 
and  dragged  him  from  the  stoop  and  thrLl  the' 

thel     ;T"'  "='%S^Sg«'J  -''  dragged  through 
the  streets  by  a  set  of  political  renegadoes,  the  scum 
andoffscounng  of  a  foreign  kingdom !  I  gotup  amon^ 
he  branches  of  a  large  buttonwood  tfee,  wl^h  "f 
hat  time  stood  in  front  of  the  old  Dutch  hous'tha 
might  be  out  of  harm's  way.    Looking  down  upon 
the  ruffians  from  my  tree  of  safety,  I  thought  to  my" 
self    '  What  a  fine  thing  democracy  is  i!  rAeor^r 
As     said  before  death  and  the  yellow  fever  have 
wofuUy  thinned  the  ranks  of  those  chaps  since  that 
day.    While    existing,   they   were   scratching    and 
scrambling  over  the  shoulders  of  each  othef  each 
striving  to  be  uppermost,  and  all  grasping  for  the 
crown-each  brother  democrat  snarling,  growlin. 
snapping  at  the  bone  that  another  was  gnfwin.  at 
And  this  IS  what  they  called  the  iea^ti^  sin^l 
of  a  Repubhcan  government!  Simple  enough   in  In 

rrri.^B^^.'lT'"  >^y"-  »'eauty,/a„  /jj 
«i^*x.,  ^v^  «*»v«iM.   nuL  1  must  return. 


26 


KEMimsCENOES  OF 


Mr.  Longfellow  roared  out  "All  „„..  ■ 
to  adjourn  to  Bowling-Green  and  I  ^  wLo  agree 
treaty,  will  say  Av"^  Th„  /..  1  "j  ""^  ^""''' 
shook  the  watch  house  whihloL  ''r  "^''" 
co^er  of  Broad  and  Wall  st  eet«  T  •  "°/''"  '°""'' 
-  the  „oh  ran.  shoutf^r^X ^  t  Tot^;: 

dampen,  oystennen,  and  hoZt  i^lw' "T' 
grog-shops  around  White  wT      ^T  '»  'he 

horses  retired  tn  tlT  ^^  '-and  the  carmen  and 

SHp;  X  a  fel'VfTh  Ir-^'T  v""'"'""^^ 
aeiats  and  devil's  journeymen  r°  .''f"\''P'"^- 
Hall,  where  they'ate.  dCnk  2  ,  1°^ ''"y- 
political  farcethey  had  cfosed  ^S  so  £  !•  ^'^ 
tion  to  themselves      Col   R  ^        satisfac- 

mind-next  sorW  H  remarked.  "Never 

iiexc  sprmg  the  votes-  of  thein  h^^,.,  i 

clammon  will  tnll  ,.»  i.  Hodmen  and 


4 


GRANT   THORBURPf. 


27 


Fmy  Y.„..  Wanaertn,,.  Of  .„  K«,^rant. 

No.  9. 

;;  He  travels  and  expatiates,  as  the  bee 
From  floH^er  to  flower,  so  he  from  land  to  land." 

;f  the  Puri...  aU  wrset?;;rre^ottr 

Wgnms;  and  besides  that   of  7»  J  ?        '"' 

made  such  rapid  advances  I  U,t  r/:  "'!, '^' 
^io«a/  Reliirint,  ti^of  T  .1,       7   .  ^^®^  termed  ra- 

that  the  m1  leni        ""^""u''  ^''^  *^^«  ''»<'  ">«" 

Bunyan.  J^'hT'^^o^r  "ot  tl^  pl  "'  ''  ''"'^ 
about  to  commence    T,t      f  P''gnms,"   was 

this  peopIe-noTTo-  takf  ^  befX  oT T'  "  ^^^ 
stalks,   nor  the  diameter  of  ,1,  •  f ."■  "'"■°- 

among  them,  I  thought  Lfo  t'f  ^T\'''"'  '"' 
tionof  the  Church^mCt  andiT  '.' P'^'"" 
sight  so  imposing.  You  wH  L  •  u"^"^  '"  '"«  " 
sadly  I  was  disajpoimed  '  "  ''^  ^^"l"^''  '"'- 

After'we  passed  the  Gates  nfHn  f  "  ^""''^'■• 
HogVBack  and  F  Jingt^  th^  '  T"'  ^"'  "''"  *« 
herald,  ^vith  face  as  ^1^  I  .  ^  ^  /'"'  '^"''  " 
like  mountain  snow  ;„  ,  .  =''  •=""''  ^""^  "'"h 
TinWe.  tinkle  Z  I '"  p"' !!!!  ''^"'^  ^^  »  ^"-r  be.,. 


"JcciJH;ur3, 


piease  step  to  de 


28 


REMINISCENCES  OP 


■1. 
% 


captain's  office  and  pay  your  passage."  Thou<.hf  I 
hese  Yankees  have  an  office  of  deposit  everywhere 
I  was  earned  along  with  the  crowd,  and  Cght 
up  witl.  ™y  head  under  the  port-hole,  or  office  win' 
ahltnT  7  "T  "  '""^■'-'Sff^'l  fe"ow.  squeezing 

to  2"  ^'^"^  ^'"''.'  ''^  '^''"  """"^^  ""^  '^i"'  his  pail 
to  the  pump,  gets  it  first  filled."  ^ 

He  looked  down  upon  me,  but  that  was  all.  He 
held  between  h.s  thumb  and  finger,  while  it  floated 
in  the  breeze,  a  $50  note,  a.,  much  as  to  say-You 

held  <7  7"  «  °"^y  '"  ™y  P"""  *-  -'  in  my 
head!    Captain  B.  with  one  eye  observed  this  ma 

n^uvre,  whi^  with  the  other  he  gave  chan^  Ja 

ten-dollar  bill      Said  he  to  ,ne-"Mr.  Todd, It's  your 

turn  next."     [I  wondered  how  he  knew  „;  namej 

Mfl  o?f^r""f  TT"'^  """"S  them  large  men." 
Mr.  Longfellow  looked  as  "flat  asapan-cake"  with- 
out  yeast.  This  me  Hi  „'  civUity  Lm  the  captl 
gave  me  a  good  opinion  of  his  heart  and  his  hea7 

prised  o  see  a  large  number  of  men  building  some- 

tlnng  hke  a  stone  fence,  with  windows  in  it.    I  asked 
the  c     t,i„     ,      ..  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^^  .^  -J  ask., 

of  New"'  "'"^''^'"^  fifty  «"->  for  the  protection 
of  Newport.     As   Newport  appeared  in  my  eyes 
from  the  water,  I  thought  their  property  mfght  be 
the.  protection.     This,  thought  ,.  is  LoLr  fip-raj 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


29 


We  soon  reached  Providence,  where  coaches  were 
ready  to  convey  us  to  Boston.  No  rail-roads  at  that 
time.  I  stood  by  my  trunk,  observing  the  filling  up 
of  about  thirty  carriages  with  about  two  hundred 
men,  women  and  children,  with  trunks,  band-boxes, 
&c.  when  Capt.  B.,  standing  by  a  coach  door,  called 
out  to  me.     On  approaching  him,  he  said— 

"  This  coach  contains  ladies  only,  but  I  have  re- 
served a  seat  for  you ;  so  you  must  take  good  care  of 
them." 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  said  I.  "  It's  a  precious  charge, 
but  I  will  do  my  best." 

There  were  fourteen  of  them,  from  twelve  to  fifty 
years  of  age,  some  very  handsome,  one  homely,  and 
some  between  the  iwa.  On  the  road  I  kept  them 
awake  with  Sir  Walter's  Scotch  tales  and  Hogg's 
stones ;  and  being  in  the  rear,  with  the  wind  astern, 
we  got  along  very  comfortabIy_a  cloud  of  dust  go- 
ing  ahead  of  us  like  a  black  thunder  cloud. 

We  arrived  at  the  Eagle  Hotel,  in  Boston,  about 
sundown.  The  ladies'  hats,  cloaks,  and  dresses, 
which  on  the  steamboat,  showed  colors  enough  to 
bedeck  fifty  rainbows,  were  now  but  one,  viz.  ashes 
on  aslies,  and  dust  on  dust. 

The  next  day  being  Saturday  and  the  anniversary  of 
the  Battle  of  Bunker-Hill,  I  visited  the  old  batL- 
ground  and  monument ;  and  being  alone,  retraced  in 
memory  and  imagination  the  scenes,  consequences, 
and  results  of  that  sanguinary  conflict,  and,  with  my 
mind  s  eye,  looked  back,  through  the  mists  of  six 


3* 


ixty 


30 


r-i, 


|i 


l-i:.,- 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


years,  to  the  beautiful  villao-p  i„  c    .i     •, 
drew  my  first  breath.    /  hhfk  i  twS^     !;:''  "'^^^  ' 
August,  about  eight  o'clock  on  a  fil  "  '"°""'  °^ 

viliaffers  stonrl  ,„  ^  evening,  that  the 

driver  threw  r„  EdL  1  ^^*'"'™^^''-  The 
group,  and  t^e:  ho!:^:f„;;r^  ?r  "  '"^ 
on  horseblock  rp«<lf„7v.  P™''''  bunted 

the  British  had  the  sto;y  all  ttZitl'tJ'l'l  T 
were  crushed,  and  the  rebellion  at  Tn  eTd  A  f  ' 
excisemen  and  their  deputies  gave  a  shout  ht  7 
-entered  their  cabins  with  Lav/htT 'an';  lo'!; 

wherel  was  li%Utl  HVC^f '' 
paper  recollections.     The  maff.r  ^  ^'^^" 

»y  heart,  from  the  cir?ur  aC  .laTtKh-r" 
family  worship,  my  father  prayed   God  fl     ®' 
bless,  and  direct  Geor^^  W=  ^-  protect, 

the  arm  of  the  opplfor  ^^f.'"^"^'  ^"^  ^  break 
the  merits  of  the  calT  i  '."^  '"^  y°""S  '»  k"°w 

Wng  glad  2:  oTfo'lks  SSh't  "'  t'"^"^ 
beat.     At  school  von  IcJl         .  ^'"'"''P'    ^^^^ 


I!! 


id  where  I 
le  month  of 
ng,  that  the 
nval  of  the 
ved.     The 
per  to  the 
,  mounted 
^ true  and 
ostoriy  on  a 
^c.  and  as 
the  rebels 
•     A  fevf 
'■>  but  the 
and  long 

ith  anni- 
the  field 
ly  news- 
•ed  upon 
flight,  at 
protect, 
o  break 
to  know- 
father's 
3)  were 
tin  side. 

rday  or 
>ractfce 
•'clock, 


If 


GRANT   THORBURN.  oj 

on  Sunday  morning,  resolving  to  examine  the  exteri- 
or  and  mtenor  of  their  churches.     Wherever  I  espied 
a  steeple  for  a  guide,  thither  I  steered  my  course: 
and  mto  most  of  them  I  found  access,  as  the  sextons 
were  either  dustmg  inside  or  sweeping  outside.    This 
might  be  rational  enough,  for  ought  I  knew,  but  I 
bought  It  was  hardly  consistent  with  pure  reli^^ion  • 
they  ought  to  give  aman  seventy  cents  a  week  more' 
on  condition  that  he  beat  the  cushions  and  swept  the 
gutters  on  Saturday  afternoon.   I  was  struck  wiih  the 
grandeur  of  all  of  them:  they  beat  our  New^oJk 
churches  all  hollow    I  was  pleased,  too,  that  they 
did  not  let  the  house  of  God  lie  in  ruins,  while  they 
themselves  were  living  in  ceiled  palaces.     I  saw  a 
church  where  the  back  of  the  pulpit  was  nearly  as 
broad  as  the  east  end  of  our  City-Hotel :  high  above 
IniriT   ^"''  there  hung  a  guilt  anchor,  large 
enough,  from  its  appearance,  to  have  served  a  seven 
ty-four ;   and  instead  of  tarred  ropes,  it  was  bound 
round  the  stock  with  thick  scarlet  ^Ik  ^ordTand   he 
wall  covered  with  fine  scarlet  cloth.     I  should  th„k 
here  was  a  hundred  yards  of  it,  which  hunginbeau 

ti  tfll        :r  I  '\'  '"'^^  °^'^^  -^^-     The  ex. 
ton  told  me  the  cloth  and  anchor  were  presented  to 

the  church  by  a  single  (bachelor)  gentleman,  and  cos' 

a  thousand  dollars.     I  thought  he  had  better  ^ven  five 

hundred  do  lars  to  the  Bible  Society,  and  the^  bou/h! 

furniture  with  the  other  five  hundL,  and  went  to 

house-keeping  with  one  of  those  l^onnie  lasses  I  saw 

the  day  previous,  walking  round  fh.  Inr..  T7i^  ._     ; 

-•'•q'^  x:/iiii  tlUt?  ' 


38 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


Whatever  might  bo  his  relirion  I  i 

thought  llmttvouldhavebefra  .  ""''  '^"'  ^ 

to  lay  out  a  thousand  doLr!  '"  ""'"""'  ^"^ 

''reathe,  got  up  and  Iked  ,L  "^  ''^'"'''  "> 

with  him  in  Z.\Z  to  ,)!;         '^''"e^gation  ,o  join 
"'"gmg  to  (lie  praiso  and  clorv  r.e  n    i 
&c.  when  up  started  a  1,  ,„  strin,,  „f  i    ,  ^°''' 

-ho  sung  out  most  Jus  1°  to  u"!  •"'''  ''"'*  ''•'^''»' 
«m..;..,.  I  turned  aro„:.W  ''?"°  ^"''  ^'"'7  "f 
broolced  the  affa  r  „,  T  .'^''  ''"^^  "'«  -"'"i^ter 

Jo.'  there  l^etolZZZ  CrtT'''  '"™'  -'-• 
psalm-book  shut  and  n^^  1      T         """^y-  ^"i"  "-is 

pu.pit  support-it  roKrLT''^'^^'^^ 

w.th  a  complacent  smile  as  he  Zl'eTJr Tf'"" 
l>nms  of  the  lasses'  hats  Cat  ,hZ^  "f^erthe  broad 
measured  about  three  feet  br  "''  '''"^^' '"»" 

and  seemed  absorbed  iteontm^w"'''."'''''''''-':* 
of  their  warbling  throats      B;ts  X    f'T 
glistening  brow,  I  was  sure    Im         ^  '^'"^^^  ^"^ 
doubt,  that  howeve^sat  sfied  h  !  ""^  "''""^'-  "^ 

God  hy  pro.,,  in  Ihe  pu  1 1  ^-T^'"  "^^  '"  """^'"P 

ciple  into  the'ordinarrSs  of  ?ir'"r^""^P""- 
as  eating  and  drinking  Z  ^'  "'  '^^''■>  «o  far 

to  be  an  !ld  .cot-htl.lTed^rC:;;.  ^^-f  '' 
were  sno-intr- RnFor.        i        ,   ^^encft,    which  thev 

bacUoU.e"^miSrrhrr-a?''""^'^"i^ 
end  of  the  hymn  keeninl,  ,'     "''  ™"=  'o  the 

The  people  Lk;d  aroufd        T"'  "'"'-'^"P^'airs. 

said,  "He's  a  Yorke  ""an'l"       '"T  ™"^'''  ^""'o 
^o.ker,     and  some  that  I  was  daft 


Lll 


V  not,  but  I 
'ational  way 

ch  I  had  not 
g  awhile  to 
tion  to  join 
•ry  of  God, 
and  lasses, 
md  glory  of 
he  minister 
liim,  when, 
Y>  with  his 
side  of  the 
e  manth'no- 

o 

r  the  broad 
adies'  hats 
d  border,) 
sweetness 
lieeks  and 
manner  of 
y  worship 
'theprin- 
sf,  so  far 
found  it 
hich  they 
irned  my 
ig  to  the 
Jp  stairs, 
d,  some 
'as  daft. 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


33 


Thought  I  You  may  say  what  you  please,  but  I  have 
only  jomed  with  them  who  sing  praise,  as  the  minis- 
ter  requested  ;  so 'they  may  laugh  who  win.' "  They 
called  themselves  rational  Christians  in  this  church, 
but  I  thought  they  had  a  queer  way  of  showing  their 
rationality.  ° 

In  tho  afternoon  I  went  to  another  church,  to  see  if  I 
could  find  anything  more  orthodox.  The  minister,  after 
inviting  the  people  to  join  with  him  in  singing,  read  a 
hymn ;  the  organ  then  played  a  solo,  after  which  a  wo- 
man-dressed pretty  enough,  but  I  thought  her  cheek", 
were  rather  more  ruddy  than  nature  commonly  paints 
in  the  month  of  June-got  up  and  sang  most  sweetly, 
all  alone  by  herself,  praise  and  glory  to  tho  whole 
congregation.     I  could  not  see  that  any  person  joined 
with  her-nothing  was  to  be  heard  but  her  sweet 
pipes  and  the  tin  pipes  of  the  organ.     After  church 
was  out,  I  asked  a  gentleman  who  she  was  that  sanij 
or  us  and  he  told  me  that  she  belonged  to  the  thea- 
tre;  that  she  sung  till  past  twelve  o'clock  on  Satur- 
day night,  on  the  stage,  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  tho 
dev.l_that  the  rational  church  paid  her  three  hundred 
dollars,  and  the  devil's  church   six  hundred  dollars, 

p.Gtty  bright  figure.     Said  I  to  myself,  "If  one  of 
those  pilgrims  who  landed  on  Plymouth-rock,  that 
cold  frosty  morning,  with  noses  as  red  as  a  north-west 
moon   was  to  look  in  upon  these  rational  degenerates 
how  they  would  sink  into  insignificance."     And  here 

let  mo  remark,  that  nenrlw  nil  fi.„  .„:_:- t  ,        ,  ^ 

m  boston,  were  readers,  not  preachers  of  the  Gospel. 


34 


REMrNrSCENCES  OP 


^oTdX:  saf  ts  «'t"^-.  „„„, 

'^-0  places  the  „i„Ute^;  "eTd  7'-  ''"  ""''  "'  "" 
the  people  aang  by  proxv      U  "  "''™°'".  and 

and  the  weatbef  verfwarm      tT"  """ '"'"««  '-«• 
a  fine  day  for  the  farmersld  T      "'"  ^'""^''''r  was 
"f!''-.  kept  their  ^ZTfj!'"' '"''■'"''''-■  "''^-y 
"■e.r  oxen  and  their  jackasTe?";  ""^  '""'''■servant,. 
"^  Sunday  morning  „„,;;?:  ","'-fe '•'' one  o'clock 
Sunday  „„„,;       ,f;  «;'   "f  "»  then-  grain.  &c.     On 

!l'r  ■>"  thepeo;,e,  who Ud""^  "f.'"'  "''='-'''  ''"^ 
The  lads  and  lasses  in  the  1^^  ^''"''  ^o«  to  church. 
«<">cern,  as  usual.    IZff;'^  """S  «»•  the  whole 
ffan  to  read  i,is  sermon      ^  T'''  "'«  ""inister  be 

••^^«>%."IlookedTrou„r^'^"  '■«  '''"J  ^ot  t„ 
«"'>  found  them  all  a  i™;  t"f° "  t  ■=°''g-/^'io  ? 
7«en  Who  sat  undertl  f  ;S'  "iT  ^  f"-  old 
have  been  asleep,  but  hivin!-^   '  ""'' they  too  would 
years  under  the  dro;pi;:r  ol"  tr '"'/'""  """^»'  ^orty 

-<^.forthelifooftir™.'f:ua„';:,- 

«■■•      There   were  about   ,„,     ,      '^"P  an  hour  long. 

scholars  i„  the  gallery  altw"''"    Sunday-scho!, 
selves  by  cuttint  stid    r.       ,    ^  ''''""^  '""-^ing  them. 
--Ws.  male  .^S:    e":tt'^"^"'\-^'-'"- 
ter   however,  kept  on  readin.  V    ?'     ^'"'  "'■"■«- 
Before  this,  I  was  at  a  loslfo    fv         '^"'^'^  '«"-"'"'.-^. 
f-o'-  of  the  dead  Langu  "et" '  in  v  fr^"  "'"'P™- 
I  now  thought  it  raustLan  tL        f'  ^""''^«'-  hut 
■oungYankees  to  read  s"rmo'     V''°  'r"'">  'hose 
'"-'%«.  thought  I,  whr";ey  cr?"""'"- 

•^  can  buy  as  many 


•,N 


"ffton,  Hunt- 
c.  and  in  all 
crmons,  and 
[larvest  time, 
Saturday  wag 
'"oon,  many 
lid-servants, 
«ne  o'clock 
n.  <kc.     On 
'cJock,  and 
t  to  church, 
the  whole 
Jnister  be- 
'3(1  got  to 
gregation, 
r  four  old 
too  would 
last  forty 

preacher, 
our  ]ong- 

»y-8chooI 
ig  them- 
liie  their 
c  minis- 
^fguagc. 
•f'Pro- 
?o ;  hut 
d  these 
J  them 
many 


ORANT    TUORlil/ttN. 


36 


tv 


I 


sermons  for  a  hundred  dollars  a,  tl.ey  can  road  i,. 
fifty  voars  I     B„t  a  rca.Ier  can  never  bo  an  eloquent 
speaker.     In  Parlian.ont,  in  Congress,  or  in  .ho  Halls 
olJ  ustice,  It  18  very  rare  to  hear  a  paper  speech.    The 
mnnsters  in  the  devil's  church  wouhl  be  hisse.I  off  tho 
stage  wore  thoy  to  read  their  parts  fromi,„,,or;  on  tho 
contrary,  thoy  deal  out  thoir  iie.s  in  such  strains  of  elo- 
quent  pathos,  that  they  chain  tho  attention  of  thoir 
audience,  and  batho  them  in  tears  for  hours  :   while 
inany  oJ  tho  ministers  of  tho  Mo.t  High-who  have 
the  whole  scope  of  heaven,  earti,,  and  hell  for  their 
subjects-deal  out  their  solemn  realities  as  if  thev 
themselves  believed  they  were  fictions,  and  can  hard 
Jy  keep  the  attention  of  their  hearers  for  half  an  hour ' 
When  Paul  stood  before  Felix,  and  reasoned  of 
Eighteousness,  Temperance,  and  Judgment  to  come, 
his  ejes  kmdled  with  the  mighty  theme,  and  flashed 
conviction  through  the  eyes  of  the  tyrant  into  t3,e 
dark   corners  of  his  guilty  soul,  which  made   him 
tremble  on  his  throne  before  the  prisoner,   then  in 
chains.     But  had  Paul  read  his  speech,  the  conviction 
of  he  eye  would  have  been  lost,  and  the  eloquence 

him  ofT,r  '  "'^ "''?''  "^'•'""'^^  °» "-  -''y 

^in^Tl'^T  ''^7'!  "'""''  ^^'""  '^^  "^"^'^  °f  i»Mlecl 
since  the  days  of  the  pilgrims,  but,  as  far  as  pulpit-life 
eloquence  and  oratory  are  concerned,  I  think  it  has 
been  with  an  awfully  retrograde  motion. 

Such  were  my  reflections  returning  home  in  the 
steamboat  Washington.  Caut.  CamJ.^  °  "'" 

_  2.      ■ -.-•»r 


m 


REMINISCENCES    OF 


^ceor,  fosse.,    "rth^""    „' 7"/ '"' '''«^-«^ 
healthy,  ionnie  faces   wZlir,    T'         '   ^''^''^''  ^nJ 

Victoria,  (for  I  havernt/)w";rh''"^^     ^"^«" 
and  sceptre,  cannot  be»r  »     ^  ^'"' "°""''  '■"''es 

-bjectjerhaps  theleastsaid  w":rh™°"-   ^'"  °"  ^'^ 
«o  I  will  only  Remark,  that  a  J  ooW  T""'  "'""^'' ' 
Py  group,  I  wished  in  m v  hlart.h  ?m  ."P°"  ""^  ""^P" 
Hall,  Fiedler,  and  Di^en/ "  re  .f^"' '^'"'•"''P^' 
af.  their  backs  a  score  nf      71    '^'^'^'  ^^^  having 
Manchester,  BiLTngh^m  and'^fr™  "'^  ^^'="'"-  <>' 
the  pin-makers  from  London  ^^7^^;'°^'*^^  '^'* 
have  confessed  that  Nelpl    I   '""''  '^^^  ^°"'d 
"■uch  as  the  parLr  ot  O  "f  "v'"'"'"^  ">«  °'<J  ^ 
kitchen.  But  as  I  inLL^     ^"  ^'"°"^  ««els  her 

"  we  will  rest  her   'as  thevT '°  '"^  ^"•'J-'^gain. 

Around    R,   k         ^  ""ey  say  in  court. 

Around   Boxbury,    the   rocks   are   verv   -     • 
They  appear  as  if  a  I^=J    r  ^   curious, 

thrown  upon  a  qltitv  off  ''""^-"""e  had  been 
to  cool  and  adhere     1  In      '^''""°"^''  '"'^  '>^«°  left 

farnisaregootanTthe^S;/::?  "'  "T  '"^ 

i.the^ow„e;:;'';?7thriirr&-  ^-' 


GRANT   THORBUHN.  3-7 

CO  mz^'rrir  .^'"^'^-''--''^  g^^f" »; 

it"  wSTthe  schoo  r '"'"^V''^  "^"-^  -nd  under 
I  fn„„^    u     /         ^^''"°^'  »"<*  sometimes  a  colleire 
I  found  abundance  of  Bibles  everywhere  •  an.lV,  if ' 
Wncal  fact,  that  where  BibieJ  abound    ses  of 
Jearnmg  much  more  abound    Henr^  th!  "  • 

endeavors  nf  ri,=  u  •  '"^  unremitt  n? 

our  schools     Onc^r'TI'"^''"'^''  ""^  ^ible  from 
other  c:lry'Z'C:'XT^:ttt''  ^"- 

??vS::dt^!:-S?S 

eastern  and  northpm  «5fof^.      -n     '""  P^^P^e  ot  the 
uu  norcnern  States  will  stand  like  a  wall  r.f 

A^t  ehCh  7iLri  r^;  ^"'''^"^^  ™- 

were  well   filler    T  l        ''"'^'^"^  °°  "'''  Sabbath 

e™;yTtL?'homrH:me  'nZj^-'^  ^^^ 
other  Deist  says    ernDtv^ J  ?     u    "^' ''"'^ ^^^"^ 

,.„  ,„,,,  ^  ^^.,y_  .^  ^j^.^  situation. 


38 


REMINISCENCES    OF 


(    . 


I  founl'r  ^''"<3«ring«  through  thk  eastern  country, 
I  found  the  men  kmd,  sociable,  sober  and  industri- 

natured   ^'77'°  '""''''""^'  '"'^"'S^"''  -dgood- 
Bdtured.    It  s  all  we  can  want  of  them 

I  mtht?°" '""'^.'7''^'^''  of  discovery.    Andfhat 

left  S   ^  ^  ',."'"  "^y-^^y^  ^  ^«"  ^'  highways,  I 
eft  all  my  lumber  at  home.     The  histo^  of  «;« 

steamboat  voyage  on  our  northern  or  eastern  waters 
may  answer  for  the  history  of  a  hundred  at  the  same 

a  Cll  d'T  ^"'-■'S*—  when  men, 
as  well  as  birds,  choose  their  mates,  you  may  always 
observe  a  reasonable  proportion  of  these  two  made 

frm°thor    ,'■  '".    ^?  """y  '"''"y  <3'^'i''g"i«l>  them 

aUrn^^r  "'"  ''"""  ''•"='''"<'  'o^^*-  i°  holy 

^hance  for  some  years,  provided  you  are  a  close  ob 

server  of  human  nature.  You  will  see  the  fair  new 
rf^"'  ?!  fast  to  the  arm  of  her  natural  support, 
up  stairs  and  down  stairs,  to  the  table,  or  promenade  • 
always  linked  together  as  close  as  the  bands  of  mat! 
rmiony  can  tie  them.  Even  in  a  crowd  where  they 
cannot  go  abre^t,  you  may  see  her  squeezing  along 
sideways  after  him,  still  grasping  his  arm  as  if  shf 
^as  afraid  he  might  drop  into  oblivion.   Supper  ove. 

them  St.  pacing  the  deck,  or  sitting  in  a  lonely 
corner,  like  two  turtle  doves  on  a  leffless  oak,  re^ 
peatmg  their  tales  of  love;  there  they  sit  till  Mid- 
night or  till  the  cold  northeast  wind  comes  sweep- 
ing down  from  St.  Anthony's  Nose,  or  round  the 


GRANT   THORBURN. 


39 


following,  I 
'.    And  that 
highways,  I 
tory  of  one 
tem  waters 
at  the  same 
when  men, 
nay  always 
two  made 
Squish  them 
ler  in  holy 
a  close  ob- 
le  fair  new 
il  support, 
omenade ; 
is  of  mat- 
^here  they 
zing  along 
I  as  if  she 
)per  over, 
will  see 
a  lonely 
i  oak,  re- 
till  mid- 
js  swoep- 
ound  the 


comer  of  Point  Judith,  more  like  forming  icicles  than 
fanning  the  flame  of  love,   admonishing  them  to  re- 
tire ;  they  then  walk  to  the  door  of  the  ladies'  cabin, 
where   the   imperious   law  of  the   boat— in   direct 
contradiction  of  the  ceremony-parts  those  asunder 
whom  God  hath  joined  together.   No  more  dare  he 
set  foot  in  there,  than  enter  the  harem  of  a  Turk 
There  with  the  pearly  tears  dancing  in  their  eyes, 
they  shake  hands   and  part,  as  if  for  ever— she  to 
sleep  if  she  can,  and  he  to  the  bar,  to  drown  his 
sorrow,  if  he  can,  in  a  glass  of  mint-julep. 

I  observed  a  pair  of  this  kind  now,  whom  I  had  seen 
on  my  former  voyage.  Then  they  were  newly  linked ; 
now  they  were  settled  down,  with  all  the  sober  re- 
alities of  life  upon  their  backs.    No  squeezing  side- 
ways,  arm  in   arm,   in  a  crowd— no  leading  down 
stairs,  or  pulling  up  stairs  by  the  hand,   or  tips  of 
the  fingers,    as   you    would  pull  a  trout   from  the 
depths  of  a  mill.pond-no  snatching  at  a  fan,  glove, 
or  handkerchief  before  it  has  reached  the  deck-but 
merely  a  very  sedate  ejaculation  of  «  My  dear,  you 
have  dropped  your  fan  !"  while  he  very  quietly  moved 
on,  leaving  his  goddess  of  last  summer  to  pick  it  up 
as  best  she  could.    I  could  but  notice   how  much 
easier  they  then  got  along  one  before  and  the  other 
behind,  m  all  the  composure  of  true  Indian  file. 

5>hould  any  of  my  readers  think  these  pictures  are 
too  highly  colored,  they  have  only  to  visit  Albany 
or  Boston  by  steam,  and   they  will  then  see   these 

comedies,  or  trarm/Wao     «^*«J   . ^. 


a^^tCLi     III 


nature. 


40 


■"^.     .'-.if' 


REMINISCENCES  OP 


Thought  1. 1  have  been  youlbu?!     ^^   P'^™"'- 
I  have  never  seen  nn.ir^'  ''"""Warn  old,  yet 

-proper  coXt'SrfbaTr  'V'"^''^ 
the  evil.   The  tenmnr    "Ij'"^^^"'^  'ay  at  the  root  of 

if  a  «a„  of  LSI?  LrtTad"  r  '^^^^  "^^^ 
no  case  is  it  the  duty,  business  ^t:  of  2 h  '" 
band  to  drive  his  wif«     ^i        i    i  ""erest  ot  the  hus- 

England.    She  wZteT    °2^  "7  t"  ''  "^^  '"^  '" 

J^indness,  gentlenl'Ir^pr^ti"    '  '"^^"-   ^^ 
her  anywhere.  Perauasion  you  may  lead 

oftLf tZ:; "!  T  '^^^'  '™^'  -» - — 

husband    S  a  2    "f  ^™«'"'''"»  -"M-  yet  her 
very  co^S;.  Tisl^Z^'  ^^  "'""^  -"••  W 

one  day  scolded  Ul^^'t  n^a^ltVa  .^r  ^ 
without  beine-  able  tn   a  "*^'y  "alf  an  hour 

him,  and  findL  that  l^  '"  ^"^"^  """'^  fr°« 

feet  upon  WsTarid  ^  ^°'''^'  °f 'vind  had  no  ef- 
to  trv  th«         "^      ^  '^"P^""'  '""^  bethought  hereelf 
to  try  the  power  of  water;  accordin»^l»       •  • 
▼essel  from  one  of  fi,.,  accordmgly,  seizmg  a 

rush  to  thTfront  wbd   "^r""  "'^l"''^"'  '^^  ""^^  » 

quietly  conVrrgti'a'ren?"'  f  "P'^"^  ''™ 
immediately  emntid  i«  ?      "  *^  ""°P'  ''nd 

with  the  e>  u"S  of   "th    "''°",  '"  •""''  ''-''• 
will  make  you  sneak" '1    ^''«™'  'ake  that !    That 

'ns  face,  oCrTdt  hiff  ""'.2'"'^'^^'"^ 

may  alwavs  exn«.,  „    i  .      ^^^^  thunder,  we 

y  always  expect  a  shower !"    No  doubt  but  this 


GRANT  THORBURN.  41 

sensible  remark  of  the  philosopher  made  the  old 
lady  draw  in  her  head  and  smile;  and,  I  dare  say, 
when  they  met  again  on  the  stairs  they  were  as  .rood 
fnends  as  ever  tl,ey  had  been  since  the  first  day 
they  wore  buckled  together. 

Now  had  Socrates  been  as  hot-headed  as  some  fiery 
fools  of  husbands  that  I  have  known,  he  would  pro- 
bably  have  ran  up  stairs  and  broke  her  china  tea-pot, 
and  perhaps  drove  the  point  of  his  cane  through  the 
heart  of  the  looking-glass;  while  she,   in  refen^ 
would  tear  his  portrait  in  strip,,  and    may  be  f^^ 
the  throat  of  his  favorite  cat ;  aid  then  a  hellion 
earth  would  have  been  in  the  house.   But,  instead  of 
this,  he  poured  the  soothing  oil  of  forbearance  upon 
her  stormy  pass.ons    and  soon  the  waves  were  srill 
Men  are  mighty  kind,  attentive,  pliable  and  coh- 
do  cendmg  before  and  a  short  time  after  marriage  • 
but  soon  they  begin  to  show  their  teeth,   and  then 
hefairgtrl  find,  that,  instead  of  her  slave,  she  is 
buckled  to  one  of  the  very   lords  of  creation.    hZ 

New-\  ork  I  have  ever  found  the  genuine,  thoroueh- 
gou,g  bawlers  for  the  rights  of  men  to  be  the  most 

as    tl.e.rbnef  authority  extended.    Thomas  Paine 

and  still  h.s  wife  got  a  divorce  from  him  for  crue 
treatment.    With  such  facts  before  me,  I  would  ad 
monish  the  young  ladies  to  be  verV  circum.n..,  ;„ 
lUeu- dealings  with  young  men  of  infidelprinciples," 

4* 


42 


REMINISCENCES   OP 


for  tihey  will  find  some  pretty  stubborn  articles  among 

ecTJ'Z  r''''  ""  ^"^'"^  '°^«*"-  *«y  ™»»t  draw 
equal,  or  they  cannot  get  along  with  comfort.    It  isl 

man  s  busmess  to  stay  at  home,  when  not  necessarily 

sures  and  sorrows  of  the  family.   A  husband  is  not 
drawmg  equally  when  he  goes  out,  four  or  five  niZ 
m  a  week  to  political  or  literary  meetings,  orTcS 
c  ub,  or  theatre,  leaving  hi,  wife  at  home?  perhaps 

tumes  of  w.ne  and  smoke  of  cigars.    A  protty  com 
pamon  th.s,  to  be  sure,  for  a  sensible,  delicl  wo" 

fections  and  sour  the  temper.    And  in  this  as  in  al 

I  remember  hearing  the  eloquent  Dr   Maso^  t 
assert,  from  the  pulpit,  that  there  were  ^e"  C 
of^b^calung  a  woman's  heart  besides  breakfng  hT 


GRANT   TnOBBURN. 


43 


A  Fnneral  at  Sea. 


"'The  plashiny  water*  mark  his  resting  place, 
•'  And  fold  hin  round  in  one  long,  cold  embrace; 
"  Bright  bubbles  for  a  moment  sparkle  o'er, 
"  And  break,  to  be  like  him,  beheld  no  more." 

One  of  our  steerage  passengers  died  last  night, 
after  being  six  days  out;  he  was  brought  on  board 
almost  in  the  last  gasp  of  consumption;  he  hoped  his 
bones  would  moulder  in  his  native  soil,  (Ireland  ) 
but  his  grave  is  in  the  deep.  None  of  the  cabin  pa^- 
sengers  knew  of  his  situation  till  two  hours  after  his 

death  :  we  had  on  board  the  Rev.  Mr.  B ,  an  Epis- 

copal  minister  from  England;  he  was  in  bed,  and 
knew  not  there  was  a  corpse  on  board  till  I  informed 
him  m  the  morning ;  he  seemed  awfully  struck  when 
I  asked  if  he  had  his  prayer-book  and  canonicals  in 
order,  as  there  was  to  be  a  funeral  at  9  a.  m  •  he 
mustered  the  materials,  and  finding  all  in  order,  said 
he  would  perform  the  last  office  for  the  dead,  pro- 
vided I  would  officiate  as  clerk  pro  tem,  as  he  under- 
stood  I  had  been  clerk  in  a  church  in  New- York  lor 
some  years.  ^ 

I  informed  the  captain  of  the  arrangement,  and  re- 
quested he  would  order  every  thing  to  be  conducted 
with  decency  and  order.  A«er  receiving  my  short 
lesson  from  the  minister,  we  repaired  on  deck.  The 
scene  was  novel,  solemn  and  imposing;  the  morn 

inrr    ixrao     f.*^  .^       4.I 1  -     .    _ 


inrr    ixrao 


the   sun   shone   bright   and  mild,  a 


44 


REMINISCENCES   OP 


lowed  m  our  wakp    nn,l  d  •  i  ^      '  **^^" 

they  looked  and  seia"  ed  arin„x°"  "?'^  "''^P' 
meaning  of  this  dance  of  death  '°  ''""  *^ 

oftheaeamen    4:^3;:^^^^^^^^^ 

carpenter  and  his  mate  a^llh.r  T?'"'"'''  '''  *« 
the  captain  on  the  It  'l  l„t  T  <-  '^^  """^  ^"'"'y' 
the  beautiful  service  fortL  I?,'  °'  ""^  '"'"'''^'■' 
the  Resurrection  and  the  Lfe"  r™'"^".'-"  ' '"" 
-.en,„.  and  clear  accem  o^ftei^b  ^  f^^^^^- 
parson.    The  varinno  «   j  •         ^"^'''^"rea  lorkshire 

fn  the  facl'yr  ItW  ZTotf"''  ''''"'''' 
gers,  most  of  them  Irlh  afZv  ?T"^  P'^'''"- 
hid  the  lifeless  cUyZ'  wild  ^  '^  "'^  '=''"''  *" 
white  sea-fowls    aYc^^!  ,T^""  "^  ""«  "i"^" 

succession,  fl td  on  the^  "^  t''"'"''"^  '"  ""'"k 
dian  angel    read vt?.       """''  *'  """'&'''  °fs»«'-- 

world,  ff  ;r  C°         '^  T'  ^^"^""^-l  ^PW'  to 
"ght.    We  were  1,400  miles  from  l„„,i 


GRANT  THORBITRN. 


45 


fiusponded  as  it  were  between  heaven  and  the  great 
deep,  and  only  a  four-inch  plank  between  us  and  the 
gates  of  heaven  or  hell. 

When  the  minister  came  to  the  words,  we  "  Com- 
mit the  body  to  the  deep,"  I  sung  out  "  Launch  the 
Corpse,"  m  a  moment  it  was  sinking  in  the  mighty 
waters.  "  Lord,  what  is  man  /"  exclaimed  each  think- 
ing soul ;  we  seemed  alone  as  it  were,  shut  out  from 
all  the  world,  and  pausing  on  the  brink  of  eternity  • 
but  the  eye  of  Omnipotence  was  there  :  in  the  clear 
waters  of  the  Atlantic  I  could  see  the  white  shrouded 
corpse  smk,  sink,  sink,  perhaps  a  thousand  feet;  I 
stood  on  the  stem  and  watched  its  descent.    The 
buoyancy  of  the  plank,  with  the  stone  at  the  feet 
kept  the  body  erect,  it  looked  to  me  like  a  mortal  of 
earth  descending  to  the  confines  of  eternal  space- 
perhaps  in  a  few  moments  the  strips  of  the  winding- 
sheet,  with  the  tatters  of  the  flesh,  were  lodged  in 
monsters*  jaws. 

To  commit  a  body  to  the  earth,  seems  like  cancel- 
hng  a  debt  of  nature ;  but  though  the  flesh  be  as  cold 
as  the  marble  of  Siberia,  there  is  something  revolting 
to  the  feelmgs  when  a  human  carcass  is  sunk  in  the 
cold  green  sea-but  this  sea  must  give  up  the  dead 
that  are  m  it. 


46 


REMINISCENCES   OP 


Right.  Of  Women. 

No.  I. 

•'  Happy  are  they  that  hear  their  detraction.,  .„d  can  put  the.  f 

mending." 

bufrr™'  ^T  ^  ^f  ^'^  <='»"'-"='!■'?  the  sequel, 
but  being  a  subject  of  a  rather  delicate  cast,  I  put  in 
a  demurrer,  and  came  to  a  stand.  An  incident  oc" 
curred,  however,  which  turned  the  whole  current  of 

Mv^ir^Tt'       "''  ""  acquaintance,  a  bachelor  of 
fifty-s  X.   Thirty  years  ago  I  advised  him  to  form  a 
copartnership,  for  bed  and  for  board,  with  one  of  the 
ionnu  lasse,  whom  he  used  to  stand  staring  at  as  he 

barb  r  ^"f:*''""''  ™^^''"^  '="""'•  --y  Sab! 
S to  L"  T  '  "°""'  '"'  ^'''  "  "'«•  Now  he  says 
l.ri  [""y^"'""-  S'^y^I.  "Sir,inacou„. 
try  hke  this,  where  more  trees  are  growing  than  there 
are  men  to  cut  them  down,  no  bachelor,  over  twenty! 
hve  years  ought  to  be  tolerated."  Says  he,  "A  law 

"^^L  f""'  ^""''^  '''  ^  ^°°^  --"   However! 

considermg  h.s  age  and  station,  the  chap  looked  ten 

yearB  younger  than  he  really  is.    He  was  disguised 

mos  hateful  article  you  meet  in  the  street)  were 
neatly  polished  with  ivory,  lamp,  or  some  other  sort 
of  black;  his  cheeks,  eyes,  and  forehead  were  nicely 
smoothed  with  violet  soap,  cream  of  roses,  and  some 
one  of  the  sovereign  restoratives  for  old  age,  speckled 


ORAiNT   THORBURN. 


47 


t  them  t* 

5  sequel ; 
•  I  put  in 
ident  oc- 
urrent  of 
:helor  of 
3  form  a 
le  of  the 
at  as  he 
Jiy  Sab- 
he  says 
a  coun- 
m  there 
twenty- 
"Alaw 
►wever, 
«ed  ten 
'guised 
rs  (the 
I  were 
er  sort 
nicely 
I  some 
3ckled 


faces,  and  wrinkled  skin ;  in  short,  he  looked  as  if  he 
might  be  good  company  yet  for  a  spinster  of  forty- 
five.  But,  with  all  his  fixing,  there  was  still  an  air  of 
solitary  and  wo-begoneness  about  his  carcass.    Ho 
looked  like  creation's  blot— creation's  blank ;  for  it 
was  10  A.  M.  and  ho  had  just  descended  from   his 
solitary  roost ;  and  he  had  no  pretty  little  bird  of 
paradise  to  chirp  and  sing  with  him  and  for  him. 
"  But,"  says  .  e,  "your  speaking  so  highly  in  praise 
of  the  ladies  reminds  me  of  a  soiree  I  attended  in 
Bond-street,  about  three  weeks  ago,  where  some  of 
the  ladies  were  overhauling  brother  Benjamin.  You, 
though,  for  writing,  and  he  for  printing,  what  some 
of  them  termed  a  libel,  in  the  New  World  of  Decem- 
ber 2,  1843.    But,"  eays  he,  "  you  had  all  the  young 
ladies  on  your  side.    They  agreed  that  it's  better  to 
go  to  Hackensack,  in  the  Jerseys,  to  learn  common 
sense,  than  to  be  crammed  into  a  nunnery  and  there 
shut  up  for  life.    But  the  matrons  and  old  spinsters 
declared  they  would  ne\  er  forgive  us  for  saying  that 
they  appeared  in  the  Theatre,  at  Dickens's  shearing 
ball,  like  old  sheep  dressed  in  lambs'  wool." 

You  will  now  see  how  a  small  matter  may  change 
the  whole  course  of  a  man's  thoughts.  Had  a  tea- 
kettle never  boiled,  we  would  never  have  seen  a 
steamboat ;  and  had  I  not  met  my  friend  aforesaid, 
this  bill  of  rights  never  would  have  seen  the  light  ; 
for  hearing  I  had  given  offence,  I  thought  to  bring 
out  their  bill  of  rights  by  way  of  rejoinder :  or  rather. 


as  aueen  Vintnria    oowl   «.l -u-    .  •,  . 

^ .  .„^,.„   „j^.„    Yiuxsii  BUG    vviJHc  iO  gee  Kiiitr 


48 


^mmsCENCHa   OF 


f- 


illiterate  of  them  dear  1T     'T  """'"»  '^e  most 
•""iy  and  strength  of  mind    ;  """'  '"'<^  '  '^''ff"'  of 
oauae  even  to  th!  bootC  'if  bT"^  "''"  """'«- 
d>d  at  the  battle  of  Wa„am       j^  T*^'  *'  Bonaparte 
Austrian  princess.       ^^'  '"''  ""^^^by  mazried  an 

fght«.    Forth!  Z  sltJ  V  .'  •""  ^  '"^  ""he 

kept  in  a  continua    tew  by  CeT  f'  "°'''''  ""^  ''-« 
'^"e  fools,  and  simple  dr«»'"""P''""''°P''en,, 

theories,  Cwbich  ^H  never  rr'^'  """"^  -'"«-  of 
'eaves,  if  but  i„  stripe    l!^?f  '"  '"■"«'"«')  »*  hose 
g'obe-and  all  this  a-'-t^he  l' "^"7 ^"^'"''  'he 
-ord  about  the  rigAts  ./ J'llf  t/"?-   N°'  « 
offreedom  would  not  even  Z7J  J    '^,  champions 
the  color  of  their  own  nilf"     ^l  ^"''  '°  <=hoose 
'he  heads  of  the  queen  aS  sT"?''  ""^^  <=«  off 
P/ettiest  women  in  l^anee  b!       "'""'^'"'^  "^ 'he 
'hey  could  sleep  better"  «  S  1""  l''^  ^'^'^  "«" 
a^«<ione!   Now  only  think  h  "^^'"""P  "'^i» 

"een  the   wisdom  oCh  "se  Fr^ T' '""^""'- 
they  really  thought  if  a  womanT      f ""'"'"»'  ^r 
off  she  could  not  wearawt         ■f''  '^'^  °"<=ecut 
N.B.  We  have  losoltr^r^ '=°'°'- •''««• 
democrats  among  ourselves  wb"''.  °^  ^"«"'='"> 
^««ely,  if  o„ee  tfey  had  lu  t^.  H  ''""'''  ^'='  J""'  «« 
iMocked  out  of  ,hi  ®  doors  and  w  indow« 

let  loose.  ^  ""'  ""^'^  a^d  the  wild  btu 


^  Jtnovvs  that 
"g  the  most 
I  I  length  of 
ght  in  their 
Bonaparte 
married  an 

'en  aJI  this 
turn  to  the 
^  has  been 
ilosophers, 
volumes  of 
'©>}  whose 
^jgate  the 
?«.   iVota 
hampions 
to  choose 
y  cut  off 
Js  of  the 
said  that 
>  than  in 
ust  have 
■ats;  for 
5nce  cut 
►r  at  alJ. 
nerican 
just  as 
indows 
beasts 


GIANT  THOBBrRN. 


49 


Next  came  Thomas  Paine,  with  a  huge  compound 
of  abstract  ideas  entitled  Rights  of  Man.   He  found 
time,  however,  while  writing  this  collection,  to  mar- 
ry a  respectable  young  woman  in  a  small  town  in 
England :  three  years  thereafter  she  obtained  a  di- 
vorce from  him  for  hrutal  usage,  and  this  was  his  bill 
of  rights,  I  knew  another  champion  of  freedom,  in  a 
small  village  some  few  miles  south  of  Philadelphia, 
by  trade  an  auctioneer.    There  he  stood,  with  the 
Rights  of  Man  in  one  hand,  a  cowskin  in  the  other, 
and  the  Declaration  of  Independence  pinned  on  his 
breast.    He  was  selling  a  woman  and  her  three  chil- 
dren at  vendue :  and  this  was  his  bill  of  rights.    But 
to  bring  the  matter  home  to  our  own  doors,  and  our 
own  firesides— here  I  might  fill  a  volume,  were  1 
only  to  give  the  names  of  a  set  of  political  jugglers 
whom  I  have  knowi^  within  the  last  half  century. 
They  were      arriwd  to  some  of  the  finest  specimens 
of  women    that  the  world    could  produce.    They 
swore  at  the  altar  to  nourish  and  to  cherish  the 
Weaker  vessels  all  the  days  of  their  lives ;  but,  within 
six  months  after  marriage,  should  their  better  half 
be  any  way  indisposed,  away  tliey  go  to  some  ward 
meeting,  or  card  meeting ;  or,  may  be,  he  takes  some 
country  cousin,  and  away  they  hie  to  Niblo's,  the 
Park,  or  the  Battery.   She  is  sitting  by  the  window, 
her  pale  cheek  resting  on  her  delicate  hand— the 
tears,  like  drops  of  pearl  trembling  in  her  beautiful 
eyes,  while  he  and  his  cousin  descend  the  front  steps 
with  loud  tiealv  nf  laiinrlifoi'   air^r'^T  «««  ^c i.:_i_ 


* 


50 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


f 


to  her  hem  like  the  sharp  point  of  cold  steel    Per 
haps  she  sees  no  more  of  him  till  he  mLlfZ/-' 
ready,  at  8  ii.  m  nevf  ™„    •        L  "  """^^  '» 

ftce.^;  this  the7^  zzfJr'.\  '^"*?^- 

wifel   You  say  7o/left  h  u  "1^  "^"^^  y""" 

nu«e.  No  doTbt  yo„  dfd  -tut'ex  '  '''"'^  °'''  ^°°<' 
consummate  fool  you  m.i  I  ^^1^°"  """•"<"" 
band  makes  the  best  nurt  l"°"'  !*""  "  kind  hus- 
and  leaving  ^  J ^^Z  y ol^S :'-r '''''.  ""J 
her  medicine,  carried  the  cup  to  her  linsT'  """''' 
hand  the  bitter  druff  would  If  ^  '  ^^°'"  ^"""^ 
down  beside  her  aTMnT  '"'^^''^  *«»  «« 

told  her  only  2  hV„f  V/°"  P'^'^^'  ^"'^  '^ y" 
tell  her  three  weeKl  '  ^"^  ''°""'  y°"  »«ed  to 
perfectly  ™U  Wore  th      '•  "■'T''^"'  =''«  '-<'»''»  "^e 

This  is  ^  2laZ%l:  r„7,  r  "'  """'^^  ^'"'• 
spect  it.    There  i«  ;„,  ^      "^  *'^°™  '°  "-e- 

will  see  th/r       u       "P'  "'""  «'^'«'  astorm-you 
theCi^;'.*rrr''^^^'°^'*«HowS 

»andaHnst\SSro7a'"ririf  "1'''^ 

^oto^^rair^""^^^^^^^^ 

times  between  LeonaTa„TR''"f  """^  ^P^' ^^y 

course  of  three  hour^     t\     ^«'='°'^-«'^«ets  in  the 

tlaree  hours.    They  generally  hook  arms, 


teel.   Per- 
feoffee  is 
Whisker- 
Jrish  your 
of  a  good 
ire  a  most 
kind  hus- 
aying  out 
le,  mixed 
com  your 
then  sat 
nd  if  you 
I  used  to 
t^ould  be 
'her  sun. 
n  to  re- 
ige,  out 
1  fool  or 

ho  prey 
'oadway 
>m.    On 
n — you 
toward, 
like  the 
►u  have 
3u  may 
iss  fifty 
in  the 
I  arms. 


GRANT  THORBITRN. 


51 


'^ 


and  as  they  grin,  look  and  talk  in  one  another's 
faces,  their  motion  has  much  of  the  swagger  of  the 
Siamese  Twins.    You  may  know  them  by  the  cut  of 
their  jib.  They  have  beards  like  the  goats  on  Mount 
St.  Gothard— their  slender  waists  (I  am  now  speak- 
mg  o^twa-legged  animals,  who  call  themselves  men) 
are  squeezed  up  and  pressed  up  with  whalebone, 
cord  and  buckram,  till  they  look  like  a  spider  sus- 
pended between  the  heavens  and  the  earth  from  the 
leaf  of  a  peach  tree.    They  also  wear  india-rubber 
suspenders,  which  are  intended  to  act  as  preventors, 
(as  the  sailors  say,)  to  stop  the  extremities  from  part- 
mg  from  the  trunk.    Now  these  insignificant  simple 
sons  of  silly  women  do  nothing  else  but  go  about 
among  the  weaker  sexes  seeking  Whom  they  may 
devour,  like  the  devil,  their  master,  who  first  beguiled 
Eve.    She  having  lost  caste,  is  driven  from  society  to 
the  highways  and  hedges  for  food  and  shelter;  while 
he,  provided  his  brown  hide  is  covered  with  black 
super^ne,  is  caressed,  courted,  and  admitted  into  the 
best  8ociety-(the  word  ie.^  is  too  often  misapplied 
m  these  ca8es)~fine  carpets,  damask  curtains,  and 
stately  pariors,  where  such  genteel  dressed  black- 
guards  are  introduced,  turn  that  society  into  the  very 
worst.    "  Fowls  of  a  feather  flock  together."   Some  of 
our  now  State's  Prison  gentry  formerly  shone  in  these 
best  societies.    In  the  mean  time  the  poor  ruined  fair 
one  IS  a  stranger  in  the  house  of  her  friends. 

I  was  led  to  these  reflections  by  a  visit  to  the  Pen- 
uenuary;  where  I  saw  among  the  women  some  of 


52 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


my  life,  wa  king  two  and  two  with  other  outcasteof 
savage-Iooking  lord  of  creation.  But  aa  I  intend  to 
mis  i\o.  1  of  the  Rights  of  Wompn    \^xr  Vr.^-      .l 


Astoria,  December  21,  1843. 

th«v  »i  .  "'■^«^'' «  piece  for  the  Mirror,  which 

it  this  IS  m  season— and  vou  like  if     ,>'=  .^ 

-o"aXrifi:~?-^^^^^^^ 

not  belles  letters  and  well  turned  periods.  IfsS' 
I  -ntend  to  contribute  now  and  then,  and  whZ  plo 
pie  find  my  p.eces  in  your  cheap  pav.r  I  hoTe  ^  ^ 
increase  the  subscription  list.  ^       "^^ 

Yours  sincerely, 

Grant  Thorburn. 


j.i 


I  ever  saw  in 
f  outcasts  of 
ferocious,  a 
I  intend  to 
ill  conclude 
hoping  that 
Ben  and  se- 
own  before 


*  21, 3843. 

by  request^ 
ror,  which 
f  the  year.  " 
t  your  ser- 
mmar  and 
1  my  pro- 
em laugh, 
If  spared, 
vhen  peo- 
pe  it  may 


RBURN. 


@ 


OUANT  THORBTTRN.  53 


Riffbt*  of  IVomen. 

No.  II. 

"  Being  a  woman,  I  will  not  be  slack 

••  To  play  my  part  la  fortune's  pageant." 

It  is  an  opinion  very  current  among  us  repub- 
licans, and  probably  firmly  believed  by  three-fourths 
of  the  whole  population,  that  all  kings,  princes  and 
potentates  are  naturally  bom  fools.  In  viewing  the 
aspect  of  things  for  some  time  past,  I  verily  believe 
n'  Lit  the  maxim,  or  proposition,  is  a  true. one;  for  on 
i40  other  principle  can  I  account  for  the  doings  and 
sayings  of  the  body  politic  for  some  years  bygone. 

That  we  are  all  born  sovereigns  in  this  country  is 
a  fact  -i  politics  as  firmly  fixed  as  the  rock  in  Ply- 
mov  ^he  Pilgrims'  stepping-stone,  (and  it  only 

travt  three  miles  during  the  last  century,  from 
its  own  bed-post;*)  and  that  a  king  and  a  sovereign 
is  exactly  the  same  sort  of  article  in  all  languages- 
heathen,  Greek,  or  savage— is  a  problem  as  true  as 
any  in  Euclid;  so  it  just  comes  to  this,  that  we  are 
nothing  else  than  a  set  of  sovereign,  blustering,  con- 
summate fools.  Were  it  not  so,  why  is  it  that  we  act 
just  the  opposite  to  every  principle  of  common  jus- 
tice and  common  sense  %  If  a  poor  Irishman  steals  a 
pair  of  pants  to  protect  his  hind-quarters  from  the 

*I  am  told  that  the  caid  rnrlr  hfic  Kaon  ../^li<.4  :..«.  «i i... 

place  in  the  town  of  Plymouth. 

5* 


54 


RBMINISCBNCBS  OP 


to  the  panL^n/arfa  ol  ^r'f  ;  ''"''"''' '"'  ^^ 
niony ;  but  thfl  ml       l  ''"'  ^^""y  s»a"  cere- 

office.  b'an.rinrre^i;trr°"t'  ^°^'- 

dom  brought  to  trial  •  and  if  T  "^  ''"'  '«'■ 

«o  meet  this  ordea    th«vl         ^^  "^^  '°  ^"""""^  ^ 

-ey  in  theirtill1r/rero?tf  Tr^ 
may  have  been  born  heirs  to  fhl  ^,  I  «"^''  '^^^ 
not  all;  for,  as  thev TI         ,       ^*"""'^-  ^■"  »Ws  is 

sear  (the  people's  iL!)  oSa  V  V'"^  *^''«^» 
«lre»  «ke%entle«en    and  ,n  ot       r'  ^"^ '° 

:^n:rhrto^r"~ 
^i-iiiaayii,.;i':stsrn£^--''-^'- 

manifest  unto  all  men;  a^d  that t  7,77  "  """'' 
disrespect  that  is  paid  to  ,L  \  '  .  *'""*"  'otal 
history,  sacred  and'Jrtftn    ItS;/"""^-   '"  "" 

their  women  are  rrplt'd  j!? '  "  •'l"^'''^  "^ 
on  Virginia,  says  that  m„n  •^'''^^"°»'  «  Ws  Notes 
body  and  powe^  of  ^  ^tl'  "^*  «'""^'h  of 
direct  md  protect  his  Zl  ^^  ""^  *>«  "*"«  to 

but,  instead  of  d  rtctil^    ^^  "'"'""°'''  *«  ''''--'• 
the  cunning  subtL   ?  ""^  P™tecting,  he  employ, 

and  brutal  stent?;/!"',"^;  P°--«  of  his  mind 

tion.   But  I  cTnnot  ^        ^^^  '°  '^°*  ''«'•  "J^'fuc- 
cannot  descnbe  this  on«r.Ho.  v-„-._ 


to  hide  them 
ong,  he  goes 
y  small  cere- 
of  thousands 
house,  post- 
are  but  sel- 
fortunate  as 
the  people's 
:hough  they 
But  this  is 
ir  ill-gotten 
are  able  to 
isives,  and 
»  gives  him 
cards  with 

^liy  of  the 
J  is  made 
most  total 
en.   In  all 
a  sure  cri- 
5  rights  of 
his  Notes 
rength  of 
>e  able  to 
>  woman; 
employs 
his  mind 
destruc- 


»KANT  THOBBURN. 


S5 


than  by  quoting  from  Mrs.  L.  Maria  Child's  Letters 
from  New-York.  Mrs.  Child  is  a  lady  of  modest 
worth,  and  an  eloquent  writer;  had  she  been  an  im- 
ported article  she  would  have  been  extolled  to  the 
skies : 


"  For  many  a  flower  is  born  to  blush  unseen, 
"  And  waste  its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air." 


She 


w«»  Payng  a  visit  to  the  penitentiary  when  the 
editor  of  the  Weekly  Rake"  (a  blackguard  paper) 
was  brought  in.  She  asks,  "  Why  should  the  '  Week- 
ly Kake '  be  shut  up,  when  daily  rakes  walk  Broad- 
way in  fine  broadcloth  and  silk  velvet  1"  She  adds— 
More  than  half  of  the  inmates  of  the  penitentiary 
were  women;  and,  of  course,  a  large  proportion  of 
them  were  taken  up  as  '  street-walkers.'  The  men 
who  made  them  such-who,  perchance,  caused  the 
oveofahuman  heart  to  be  its  ruin,  and  changed 
tenderness  into  sensuality  and  crime-these  men  live 
w  the    ceiled  houses'  of  Broadway,  and  sit  in  coun- 

tt'"r      ,  "{"'^''  ""-^  P«'«  'regulations'  to  clear 

he  street  they  have  filled  with  sin.    And  do  you 

suppose  their  poor  victims  do  not  feel  the  injustice 

of  society  thus  regulated  V  J       '-o 

thl^''  "^  f  ^"  *^'""'  "'^y  ^°  *■««' '' '  &■■  God  made 
them  angels-men  made  them  devils.    And  as  it  is 

tvl?          f/^l  "'"  "°^  """^  "'«"  to  kill  offa 
tyrant,  provided  that  therebv  thev  m.v  ,„ ^.Z 

ju«  and  natural  rights,  so  1  wonderTot'wrenire:; 


56 


REMINISCENCES   OP 


rep- *-•  cS!.r;-^;',T  " 

•Jay  to  see  one  of  fL.  ^  •  I  '^°"^^'"  "«'  °*er 
drag  a  usurper  i^  '"•'""'  "^•""  "^  <=<"»% 
an/make  hfm  strut  tht!  Ti  °'  ''"  ^«'°^  «»"«« 
a  gutter.  Srved  h  m  S '  m^f ."'"'  "  ""'^  '» 
their  ^^,  and  wer"  Sm„  !  '  '"'"^  ""'^  ^"^"^ 
own  advantage  thlvlu^-  ""P™''^  ''  f°'-"'«'- 
neration  hR  hre'a d  of  r°'  "%"'°'«  ""^^  ««- 

But,  to  be  seri  „sifo?  hTsT"'  """'  '"^^"• 
whereof  we  treat    f),=  °  «^*^®  ^u^ect 

-ronginreJrseltltaTe'or''-'"  ""  """""""g 
this  matter.  Why  sho^dV  """'^  '^*  '"«"''  ^° 
into  the  wildenfess  Se t'  """"""  ''^  ''""«"  «^«y 
bearing  away  Wssb  n  \  P'^°"  ^"^  "'^  '»'">' 
as  shefs  casTou   and  °  dd""  "'^  '^"^  '  '""^  ^  -°" 

courted  by  all,  as  if  t^  saX  ht  wtloir  v"' 
oTH^eTinTiar;  r-  *-  ^-ve:";t  be"! 
to  visit  :iTl:tX''X^-^  ;-  daughter) 
to  scatter  about  firebrands  w  T,""""  '='""'=« 

families.  You  may  see  £  w  1°"  """^  ''""•" '"  '^'" 
Broadway,  with  females  Xethl"  """"^  '"'' '" 
as  pure  as  the  mountainZw  ITT  "r  """^ 
and  receive  the  «»l..».ri„     ^'  ,    .    ^''°  '"'i  »eet 

ahiushforb*;:irr.i*!'^^^^^^^^ 


a  blush  for  beir.  seen  n7\  ^"'"'^  '^'*°"' 

meet  his  victim" (who  '"baW  """^""^ ' """  '"  *«« 
Will,  v'^no probably  was  on/»ofK«;«r___  ,  ^ 


GRANT  THORBUEN. 


57 


and  they  will  shun  her  as  they  would  the  plague. 

Now,  Miss  Mock-Modesty,  why  shun  your  poor, 
young,  blasted  friend,  when  you  are  not  ashamed,  in 
the  face  of  the  sun,  in  the  public  street,  to  be  seen 
hanging  on  the  arm  of  the  whiskered  rascal  who  has 
ruined  her  1  Here's  something  rotten  in  Denmark ! 
This  is  fashion ;  and  so  is  it  the  fashion  in  Turkey 
for  a  man  to  have  six  wives. 

I  have  thought  of  a  remedy,  and  as  our  State  legis- 
lators are  now  in  session,  if  they  have  a  mind  to  at- 
tend to  it,  well ;  if  not,  I  can't  help  it.  Let  there  be 
a  court  established  by  the  name  and  title  of  the  Court 
of  Conscimce.  Let  this  court  consist  of  three  matrons 
not  under  forty,  and  not  above  fifty-five  years  of  age 
bearing  the  title  of  Judges;  also,  twelve  matrons,  by 
way  of  a  jury:  all  their  appointments  being  perma- 
nent and  for  life.  Then  they  will  soon  know  how  to 
do  busmess ;  for  as  one  dies,  her  place  being  filled 
with  a  green-hand,  the  old  ones  will  show  her  how 
matters  are  conducted.  It  is  the  curse  of  the  repub- 
lic that  our  officers  are  all  children  and  apprentices— 
ever  learning,  and  never  coming  to  the  knowledge 
of  their  trust.  Every  change  of  president  brings  a 
change  of  the  whole  concern,  down  to  the  clerk  of  a 
dirt-cm.  Just  as  they  begin  to  know  how  to  conduct 
the  affairs  of  their  office  they  are  kicked  out,  and  a 
new  set  of  apprentices  step  in  to  learn.  Instead  of 
having  mazier  builders  to  conduct  our  affairs,  we  are 
not  even  allowed  to  have  journeymen ;  hence  come 

uIunderinB-.    defniilMnn-    a,.,i«.n: i 

'^'  o»    """*viiiiig,   unci  every  evii 


58 


REMINISCENCES  OP 


Wv  c™  *'  '."'  ^^'""'7  K^P"-^  to  Congress 
■CiVery  Congress  has  to  borrnw  »«/  ^""gress. 

terese  of  thf^^oney  wZd  by  th"r  17  "^  '"• 
and  as  we  are  nil  L,r      •  ^  Predecessors; 

lend  us.  Ld  the?rake  th/  b"„e7. "?  t"'  """^  '° 
other  unfortunate  gentlemen.  '  °'  ""^  ""'  '''''' 

But  to  return  to  the  Courf  nf  n 

witnesses.    Should  ther,.  h»  »  "^  '^""'^ 

e».  let  him  make  affidaWt  LZr"?""''''  """«"■ 
for  neither  constable  nor  anv  of  th  ^  ?  """S*"'""* ' 
to  enter  these  premises  It  is  !,  *"  '  '='^'"''''"  "" 
court  always  sifs  X .osed  doot  'uTt  ""^^ 
that  the  court  should  f «t  ^  "°^  intended 

defendant  or  deXe'    asZ"cTH°''''t"'"'  *« 
broken  hu  ward  nlj  ^       ?       '"™  ■  ''e  having 

Misdemeanors,  have  mulL/  ^m  ?    *^^  """"'  ""'' 
third  of  his  estate  IZ     T  °  ^^^  "^e""  ""e- 

by  way  of  indemni,^     T.    ^R  """!''  '°  "^""^  M"-- 

'he  P4rty  trdttely' if'^tretf!  7"  r*"  "» 
property  send  Mm  f„  .T^  o  defendant  have  no 

g  gaiter  deductmg  maintenance)  be  paid  over 


GRANT  THORBUttN. 


59 


to  Jane  Maria  during  her  life;  at  her  death  let  him 
out  of  prison,  that  he  may  learn  better  manners. 
There  can  be  no  appeal  from  this  to  any  court  where 
the  men  wear  wigs ;  for,   as  the  men  have  already 
trampled  on  all  the  rights  of  women,  by  refusing  to 
enact  laws  for  their  protection  in  this  and  similar 
cases,  it  is  but  fair  play  and  turn  about,  for  the  women 
to  take  the  law  in  their  own  hands.     That  this  may 
be  carried  into  effect  instanier  let  the  women  call  a 
public  meeting,  to  be  held  in  the  Park,  on  the  22d 
day  of  February,  being  Washington's  birthday,  and 
the  birthday  of  liberty.      Let  our  worthy  friend  the 
Mayor  be  requested  by  the  ladies  (and  being  a  man 
of  choice  gallantry,  he  won't  refuse  their  request) 
to  turn  out  the  whole  posse  of  constables  to  guard 
the  gates  and  perambulate  the  fences,  that  no  male 
animal  of  any  description  may  enter  in  by  the  gates, 
or  climb  over  any  other  way,  like  thieves  and  robbers 
as  they  are.     Let  three  of  the  ladies  hold  a  caucus  the 
night  previous,  and  have  all   the   resolutions   and 
speeches  cut  and  dried,  so  that  when  they  get  on  the 
stage  they  have  only  to  read  them,  and  let  all  the 
wondering  multitude  say  "  Ay  !  ay !"      Thus  having 
done  their  duty  to  their  country  and  ihemselves,  they 
can  go  home  and  eat  their  dinners  with  a  calm  mind 
and  a  quiet  conscience,  showing  an  example  of  mod- 
est worth  to  those  would-be  lords  of  the  creation  who 
hold  meetings  there,  and  who,  before  they  break  up, 
get  all  a-fighting,  like  the  Democrats  and  their  lead- 
^v  „„„    u,iwwijucii,  piGUQuns   ana  wit- 


60 


M 


il 


I 


kl 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


ne,se,.  defendants  and  counsel,  peace-keepers  and 
head-breakers,  pell-mell,  all  through  each  other.  Th". 
they  can/recdom  of  debate. 

Jl^^-^T  V°""''"'"'  ""^"  "»•  '■-ar  ladies,  to 
drop  a  hmt.      You  are  to  address  the  Senate  and  ho 

House  (meaning  the  President)  i„  Congress  assem 

B  Sit  rVr  ^'«°  ^«^«'»'-«.  or  house  oTZ- 
sembly,  which  I,ouse  contains  the  Governor  also;  but 

observe  you  ^te  not  to  petition  ;  for,  as  Park  Benia' 

«.n  to  d  the  Moabites  at  the  greaJ  meeting  of  Z 

Office  levellers,  ••  you  are  to  rcmonstrate-Jt  cithen 

jobbers  and  brokers."  says  he.  " but  fellow-craCe" 

hke  myself,  you  are  to  remonstrate.     What !  petition 

tell  them  at  once  that,  whereas,  in  our  days  of  igno 
ranee,  you  made  us  pay  two  shillings  for  a  letter!^at 
was  not  worth  tuppence,  now,  having  opened  our  eyes 
Z  ZVru  T-  ''"^  '°  '"«  'rueVpublican  ZJ: 

Zt'o/Zl^     ""'  "'^"^  ""'''  "^'f"  ""-J  "Other's 
Bonofye  back  to  your  native  woods  to  grub  trees 

besides,  we  will  beptdiate  the  eight,  six,  or  ten  doll 
la™  per  day,  whereof  you  have  been  sha;ing  the  body 

fhiSVof  r  T*'  ""  ''-"^"Othinl-except 
the  mumg  of  shng,  playing  billiards,  and  calling  hard 
names  may  be  called  doing  something."  ^ 

of  by  my  fnend  Benjamin,  but  it  is  pretty  nigh  the 
meamng;  however,  if  you  would  like  to  possess  a 

t.mate  a  wish  and  he  will  furnish  a  certified  Lv  I. 
"«ce,  lor  i,e  :s  very  accommodating  in  those  maUe^: 


GRANT   THORBURN. 


61 


I 


P.  S.  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  cut  out  a  plan 
virhich,  if  the  ladies  follow  up  with  their  wonted  spirit 
and  perseverance,  will  insure  their  complete  success 
in  regB.mmg  their  long-lost  rigJits,  viz.  it  will  be  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  send  on  a  deputation  to  present  the 
remonstrance  aforesaid  in  person.     I  thought  of  re- 
commending six,  and  had  almost  gone  on  to  name 
half-a-dozen  of  such  startling  beauties  as  would  have 
turned  the  brains  of  all  the  old  copper-heads  on  this 
side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  but,  thinks  I  to  myself, 
where  we   have  sixty  thousand   equally  handsome 
within  fifty  square  miles,  distinctions  would  be  invidi- 
ous  ;  and  having  seen  by  the  commercial  advertise- 
ments, that  it  is  recommended  to  the  young  whigs  in 
Pennsylvania  to  send  on  twenty  thousand  by  way  of 
a  deputation  to  the  convention,  I  thought  the  idea  so 
bright  it  might  well  be  imitated  by  the  ladies.  I  there- 
fore recommend  that  twenty  thousand  go  on  forth- 
with,  armed  with  their  powerful  remonstrance.    Hav- 
ing refreshed  themselves  with  a  night's  rest  at  Wash- 
ington, be  up  by  times  next   morning,  and  bavins 
eaten  a  substantial  breakfast .  fill  your  reticules  with 
crackers,  cakes  and  dough-nuts,  with  a  small  vial  of 
simple  water  by  way  of  moistening  the  lips.     Thus 
armed  for  a  siege,  repair  to  the  Capitol  and  take  pos- 
session before  the  drowsy  isamsons  have  awoke  from 
the  lap  of  Delilah.      Fill  the  gallery,  pit  and  lobby, 
only  reserving  seats  for  John  Adams  and  two  dozen 
more  of  the  members  who  are  sworn  champions  of 
•Yc-^ei.  „  ..-.,,,.     ^cj,  i.iii5  sitwug  ue  declared  perma- 

6 


62 


RBMINISCBNCES   OF 


nent.  (as  the  French  Directory  used  to  say  in  1793 
when  at  10  ,.  «.  they  had  not  got  up  Royalists'  „„!! 
enough  .0  keep  the  g„i„oti„e  f„  jj^^^  eZl 
A.  M  ti  1  Bonaparte,  fearing  they  would  not  leave 
h^  heads  enough  to  shoot  at,  drove  out  the  Cou„ch 
of  Frve  Hundred  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet!a„d  sea  ' 

your  2c:'Vr  ""'""^ "'  ^""^ >  ^-  >'^- 

your  anting  must  be  permanent,  and  you  will  soon 
bring  the  members  to  terms.     They  not  b«W 
pared  with  the  staff  of  life  like  you;",!  l/u  Z\ 
starve  thtm  out  before  morning ;  for  the  hune^y  dl 

"«t|n:"  '•■""  '""-""-  ^-H- of  the 
Having  now  brought  this  matter  to  a  happy  con 
fusion,  (as  Daniel  Webster  said  anent  the  B^u^a  "j 

res<Jlve  to  take  possession  of  the  House  by  force  of 
armMhey  are  not  without  a  precedent,  as  the  foUow- 
mg  historic  fact  will  establish. 

.nifT'  t''^"'"^  ago  it  was  customary  for  the  wives 
and  daughters  of  the  Peers,    and   other  honoTaWe 
ladies,  to  sit  in  the  gallery  of  the  House  of  LoXS 
enmg  to  or  looking  at  the  speakei^.     The  Jountr 
members  of  the  House  were  often  detected  by  the!r 
seniors,  with  their  eyes  fixed  on  the  gallery  ^whe„ 
they  ought  to  be  looking  at  the  Speaker^;  toT;  wbl 
-g.  nodding,  and  playing  pantomime  ^ith  their  1 
ma  e  cousms.  when  they  ought  to  be  laying  i„  fi,„dVof 
pohtical  economy.    The  elde«.  taking  offence  at  2 


ORANT   THORBURN. 


63 


levity,  (stupid  old  sobersides,  you  played  the  same 
trick  at  twenty-five,)  passed  a  resolution  that,  there- 
after, no  woman  should  be  admitted  into  t  le  house  or 
gallery.  Next  day  all  the  West  End  was  in  commo- 
tion, ladies  in  their  carriages  (no  lords  there)  flying 
in  all  dire'^tions.  Shortly  before  6  p.  m.  the  whol^ 
posse  of  n  jblemen's  wives,  headed  by  the  Duchess  c 
DevoTishire*  beset  the  door,  demanding  admittance. 
In  obedience  tr  ,»  nstructions,  the  door-keeper  re- 
fused ;  they  n  ade  a  i  sh  and  pushed  him  one  side, 
while  they  enio»i  d  lik  ^  a  flock  of  pigeons  and  filled 
the  whole  gallev^ ,  When  the  Peers  took  their  seats 
they  wore  confounded  to  see  their  wives,  and  daugh- 
ters that  were  married,  to  the  number  of  some  hun- 
dreds, dressed  with  all  their  ornaments,  and  hokling 
a  silent  meeting,  like  a  c  jmpany  of  Friends.  As  soon 
as  a  quorum  arrived  the  Speaker  took  his  chair ;  the 
sergeant-at-arms  was  ordered  to  clear  the  gallery;  the 
ladies  dared  him  to  touch  them ;  they  claimed  their 
right  as  peeresses  of  the  realm;  the  s- rgeant  folded 
his  arms  and  looked  at  the  Speaker  of  the  h  .use  for 
orders  ;  the  noblemen  began  to  laugh ;  the  resolution 
of  yesterday  was  reconsidered  and  laid  on  the  table  ; 
the  majority  felt  proud  of  their  dames  for  the  noble 
stand  they  had  taken ;  the  House  adjourned,  when  each 

•  She  was  said  to  be  the  prettiest  woman  in  Britain.  Going  up 
the  Strand  she  was  met  by  a  coal-heaver,  all  black  with  soot ; 
says  he,  "  Madam,  will  you  please  allow  me  to  light  my  pipe  at 
your  eyes.'*    The  Duchess  observed,  "  That's  the  highest  com- 

J. ,_    ,    -jT^j     S----C1T'CU    Hi   Ulj-    UXC,    ■ 


-» 


64 


RBMINISCENCBS  OF 


Peer  conducted  his  wife  tn  i,^^ 

my  fault.  "P  '^''  y""'  "«•««  "'8  not 


Th,  De'iP.  Church. 

••A  .impi,  r.c.,  „„,.„,,,,  i„  p„j,„„,, 

loapo  frivolity  or  play  n,f<,„|_ 
"  E.teem'd  it  «.i.d„„..  be,,  ^  ,.^^,,    ^^ 

'  about  rPa4  SZTtITT'  '"'■"^  -"  -^ 
«pend  a  leisure  hour  at  17^^'^''"  ""'  '" 
to  see  the  flowers  bloL!!      j  !       ^-'I^erty-street, 

She  had  a  ncrtltr^erTon'ttT  ";  '''''  ^■"^• 
from  beine  hand«nn,»     «l  '^'=^  '"«»  '"»'• 

however  all  r  T  t  T\  ''^  '^"^  1""^  intelligent, 
iiuwever,  and  1  Jiked  to  hear  hi>r  liVti^  i?     t  i 

|o-^  pat.  pa,  pat  conSry  Se  /S°r; 
She  had  not  yet  become  i?«// to  Pharaoh  I  r,. 
her  I  intended  snilmrr  f«     t  •      ^     -^naraoii.;  I  told 

and  expected  to  be  in  Undr'  '"  «  ^^^  «l='y». 

to  the   mantlr  of  ^.n  "  '  '^^  ^^^^"'^  *  '«««r 
°   «iBu..ger  ot  the   Covent-GHr/lon   ti.    • 

about  three  weeks  thereafter  T  I       ^^^"™ '' 

in  the  green-room     Z      ,\    ^""^  him  the  letter 

good  success  in  WVor JX    t  5^!'--' 

—  7  '      «.Iii       gUiiig' 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


65 


to  play  Richard  the  Third  to-night,"  and  then  asked 
me  to  take  a  couple  of  tickets  for  a  friend  and  my- 
self. I  told  him  I  had  never  seen  a  play.  At  this 
he  broke  out  with  a  loud  laugh  for  some  minutes : 
*'  Why,"  says  he,  "  they  tell  me  you  have  a  good 
house  in  New- York,  and  you  have  had  some  good 
players  there  too,  of  late — what  is  your  reason  V* 
Says  I,  "  I  have  one  fundamental  reason  ;  I  always 
like  to  be  in  bed  at  half-past  nine  o'clock,  and  I  would 
not  break  my  regular  rest  for  all  the  plays  in  the 
world  ;  besides,  in  Scotland!  they  say  that  the  theatre 
is  the  *  De'il's  Kirk,'  and  the  players  *  na  better  than 
they  shu'd  be.* "  At  this  he  sat  down  on  a  bench 
and  laughed  till  his  spacious  sides  heaved  like  a  pair 
of  bellows.  When  he  had  drawn  his  breath  a  little, 
"  Well,"  says  he,  "  take  the  tickets,  be  in  the  house 
at  seven,  call  here  at  eleven  to-morrow  morning,  and 
if  you  like  the  dose  I  will  give  you  a  pass  to  every 
theatre  in  London."  I  was  in  my  box  at  the  hour; 
I  liked  the  play  ;  my  friend  said  it  was  well  per- 
formed. I  was  so  pleased  when  Richmond  killed 
Richard,  that  forgetting  where  I  was,  I  sung  out, 
"  Well  done,  old  troop !"  this  set  the  folks  in  the 
next  boxes  all  laughing.  The  after-piece  was  the 
**  Maid  and  the  Magpye,"  a  nice  article  and  a  good 
moral.  I  remember  a  case  of  this  sort  which  hap- 
pened in  Scotland,  about  sixty  years  ago,  in  a  gen- 
teel family.  The  silver  spoons  were  diminishing  con- 
tinually ;  suspicion  rested  on  a  servant  girl  who  was 
much  esteemed  in  the  house ;  she  was  discharged 

6* 


'"^W^ 


66 


I 


BEMmiSCENCES   OF 


without  a  character  whun  ™-  » 
in  tea™.  Twelve  L^tZk^'T  '"{'^'''^  P^^ed 
went  up  to  repairTCtof  r  'f '  ''^^''  *«  »'««r 
were  found  in'  »  ^^^  ^07"?!  "', ''/  'P"- 
house  immediately  eem  fn/j.       x-  '*''?  °'"  ">e 

twelve  months'  wages    and  '^'°'""^'  ?"<>  h«r 

same  responsible  situation     .rdri'^'^'',''-  -  ""e 
not  dead  or  married  '  ''^''^  "^^  «  yet,  if 

p'ayrarrr^irr  ^:^-'''^''ov,the 

thought  all  was  over  thTfiddr"^^ '  """'■  J"»'  ^  I 
Scotch  reel,  when  si;"trd7^"^  ^  ''^^'^ 
came  scampering  out  from  Tl  f  '  ^'^"'^  '"'''" 
hay-stack.  The^lads  wo"e  bk\  T''"''"^  ''^^  - 
buckles,  white  silk  stockW  u,  "^'""  """J  ""^er 
white  satin  vest  aadt  "  >  u"  ""'^"'  ""-ee^hes, 
thought  they  looked  1         f"'^  '""""^  J««kets.    I 

Ws  were  Vs2^t;,CT:hyr^-*  ^^^^ 
dress  at  all;  their  hair  w«»  ,  L  ''"''•  "was  no 
and  lilies  o^he  valt^  "h"  Ss^f'  oT  with  roses 
P-nted  so  they  looked  ve'; ':  "  "''r"'''*^'^  -^ 
«'Ik  jackets,  i„  shape  like  a  co™5\  ^  '^"''^  P'"'' 
cut  down  in  front-  whi, A  .  ?  , '  *""  wonderfully 
what  is  worn  b^  he  ml  X'"  ""'''■  "°'  '-S-  than^ 

regiments  of  so[diera^S^o°an^T?'^«'^'''»<^ 
stockings,  and  pretty  littleSeJatt;""'""'  ""^ 
enough     thought  to  squeeze  orthSTiLT 

•  Servants. 


GRANT  THORBUHN. 


(57 


id  parted 
the  slater 
be  spoons 
^y  of  the 
paid  her 
r  in  the 
is  yet,  if 

•ove,  the 
^st  as  I 
a  Jively 
56  lasses 
?  h'ke  a 
3  silver 
eeches, 
^ets.    I 

*   The 

ivas  no 
h  I'oses 
ed  and 
e  pink 
Brful]y 

r  than 
rhland 
d  silk 
small 
'inde- 
ed  as 


straight  as  a  bean-pole.  Well,  the  fiddlers  bowed 
and  at  it  they  went,  first  kicking  out  ae  Jit  and  then 
the  tither;  they  louped,  they  jumped,  they  whirled 
and  flang ;  ay,  man,  but  it  was  an  aufu'  sight  in  a 
Christian  country.  I  thought  o'  Tam  6'Shanter  and 
the  witches  dancing  in  Alloway's  auld  haunted  kirk 
while  the  DeHl  was  playing  the  bagpipes. 

When  the  play  was  going  on  all  was  still — no  ex- 
citement; now  all  was  uproar  and  commotion;  the 
men  clapping  hands  and  hallowing  encore,  encore ; 
scores  of  women  laughing ;  ladies  with  their  hands 
on  their  faces.  I  thought  if  they  did  na  like  to  see 
it  they  had  no  business  there.  Says  I  to  myself,  this 
is  the  secret,  this  is  the  grand  attraction  of  the 
theatre. 

Next  morning  I  called  at  the  green-room: 
"  Well,"  says  Mr.  Bertram,  (I  think  was  his  name,) 
"  how  did  you  like  it  1"  "  The  play  and  the  farce 
very  much,"  says  I ;  "  but  the  dancing  girls  were  the 
fly  in  the  ointment.  I  have  heard  your  shop  called 
a  school  for  morals  ;  but  if  this  is  your  standard,  I 
think  it's  very  much  below  par."  He  smiled  and 
said,  "  It  is  true,  but  we  are  obliged  to  consult  the 
public  taste."  Says  I,  *' I  would  rather  hoe  com 
in  the  month  of  July  in  America,  than  be  a  slave  to 
the  public."  "But,"  says  he,  "you  have  had  some 
first-rate  fashionable  dancers  among  yourselves  of 
lale."  "  Yes,  sir,"  says  I,  "  but  they  are  not  Ameri- 
cans ;  now  and  then  we  import  a  ship-load  of  Italian 
nddiers  and  rope-dancers ;  men  singers  and  women 


68 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


Singers,  live  elephants  and  monkeys  ;  and  the  scum 
of  society  everywhere  will  wander  after  such  beasts, 
but  there  is  not  a  native  born  lady  in  America  who 
rather  than  expose  her  person  to  the  vulgar  stare 
of  a  set  of  royal  blackguards  and  noble  fools,  would 
not  take  a  prayer-book  in  one  hand  and  a  wooden 
cross  in  the  other  and  walk  into  the  flames  of  mar- 
tyrdom. '    Says  he,  "  I  know  you  are  a  moral  peo- 
ple, but  you  are  making  wide  strides  after  us  "    He 
proffered  me  a  pass  to  every  Theatre  and  Opera  in 
London.    I  thanked  him,  but  I  was  engaged  To  dine 
at  seven,  eight  and  nine  o'clock,  and  meet  with  Gar- 
dening and  other   Societies   for  ten  nights  a-head 
which  I  preferred  to  play-acting. 

I  remember  about  forty-seven   years  ago,  when 
the  only  play-house  in  the  city  stood  on  the  premises 
in  John-street  now  occupied  by  Thorburn's  Seed- 
store.    One   night  a  fire  broke  out  near  by  while 
they  were   playing :   the   house  was   emptied,   the 
fire  extmguished,  the  people  returned,  and  the  play 
went  on  in  less  than  half  an  hour.    Never  having 
been  mside  of  a  play-house,  I  went  in  to  see  what 
they  were  about.    They  were  busy  with  "  The  Devil 
to  pay  in  the  West  Indies,"  a  piece  in  high  repute 
m  those  days.    But  as  I  could  not  understand  what 
they  were  at  on  the  stage,  I  took   a  look   at  the 
folks  m  the  boxes,  pit,  and  gallery.    I  saw  respecta- 
ble women  from  Broadway  and  Pearl-street  in  the 
boxes— (no    Jones    or    Bond-streets,   no    Park    or 
Swamp.Place  in  those  days,)  men,  women  and  chil- 


GKANT  THORBTTEN. 


69 


he  scum 
J  beasts, 
ca  who, 
ar  stare 
(,  would 
wooden 
of  mar- 
'al  peo- 
s."    He 
*pera  in 
to  dine 
th  Gar- 
a-head, 

I  when 
'emises 
Seed- 
while 
d,   the 
le  play 
having 
3  what 
>  Devil 
repute 
what 
at  the 
pecta- 
in  the 
rk    or 


dren  in  the  pit,  a  motley  group— and  Blacksmiths* 
apprentices  and  Canvastown  girls  in  the  gallery. 
(No  Church  or  Leonard-streets  in  those  days.  Can- 
vas-town, now  Whitehall,  manufactory  is  at  present 
located  in  Walnut-steet.)  I  saw  mothers  of  forty, 
with  their  daughters  of  twenty,  sitting  in  all  the  im- 
modesty of  undress.  I  knew  many  of  them  by  name 
and  number.  Some  were  members  of  Churches. 
Said  I  to  myself,  "  You  dare  not,  for  the  life  of  you, 
be  seen  in  church  rigged  out  in  that  fashion."  The 
next  place  I  saw  any  of  those  ladies  was  in  church, 
there  they  sat,  in  modest  apparel  and  decorum  of 
manner,  reading  their  prayers  and  making  their  re- 
sponses with  faces  as  long  as  their  hat-bands.  I 
thought  they  must  have  a  conscience  for  Sundays, 
and  8,  conscience  for  Mondays — a  dress  for  the  house 
of  God,  and  an  undress  for  the  synagogue  of  Satan. 
There  is  something  so  fascinating  in  dramatic  re- 
presentations to  boys  of  from  fourteen  to  twenty- 
two,  that  they  will  steal  from  parents,  masters,  su- 
periors or  equals,  or  anywhere,  so  that  they  may 
gain  admittance  into  this  hot-bed  of  all  iniquity. 
The  records  of  our  criminal  courts  well  establish  this 
fact.  Colquhoun,  who  was  many  years  at  the  head  of 
the  Police  in  London,  and  who  published  a  history 
of  that  institution,  remarks — •'  I  believe  that  more 
of  the  youths  among  the  lower  orders  in  London  be- 
gin their  career  as  thieves,  in  order  that  they  may 
have  the  means  of  gratifying  their  penchant  for  the- 


-r 


70 


BEMINISCENCES   OF 


nyd"    Now  don't  you  think  that  the  youths  in 

New-York  are  made  exactly  of  n.„ 
that  the  youths  in  LoXlrf^lVT.T"'^ 
youths  are  W/...  and  many  S.mt  t^,: 
well  tanght  ««  are  the  youths  in  J ...v,do\"nT' 
our  youth  being  all  born  sovereigns  thev  IJT"""' 
quently  cram.ned  with  an  extra  quantl  of 
de.ee  .d  folly,  ..kin,  ..en.  «t  1"S:2  ;// 

viorrirer  tht;  :r  ■^,  :f  ^ '-  --^  -"- 

"mediately  there  I^s  I  rirVnde'  r'"""' 
a«  oyM,.x.hou3o  and  a  porterhouse  T  Jr'  '""^• 
a  pre.  ,.i  tutio'i-house     Tl?«   f  '     ^amblmg  and 

-...er.,y.he":;„S:uir::^jf,;;;^j::j 

n;„^/  r      ,    waiKed  the  streets  at  a  I  hours  nf  th^ 
n  ght,  for  doctors,  nunes,  &c.    I  have  of^n 
(just  as  the  streaks  of  light  be,.a„  L  Tu  ,  '*^" 

s^^)  young  men  and  Ceme^ntte'' ITeT™ 

LilertyTrel     hi''"''"-,  .^^'"^^"  «-''   «'l 
*i.jr  streets  1  have  counted  from  fiPv*»«  *«  *      i 

J'   ue  piaying  cards   m  Lerov-PJarP  win,  o 

«^re  the  wL^  t^^^^^^t^t-^  X^^' 
-d  Long  Island,  when  they  send  t^.^Z:!^ 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


71 


youths  in 
3  material 

-Oasly  our 
re  not  no 
Besitieg, 
re  coiise- 
of  .  Tipu- 
for  every 

ery  other 
i> -house, 
its  wing, 
)Iing  and 
the  first 
he  other 
in  New- 
s  of  the 
en  seen 
eastern 
ores  in 
E*  which 
Bd   and 
twelve 

entry. 
3  hour 
I  some 
-dollar 
aff  be- 
Rhode 

New- 


J 


York  to  measure  cloth  and  sell  mousseline  de  laine, 
that  they  have  pitched  them  into  the  mouth  of  the 
roaring  lion— that  he  is  dragging  them  along  the  road 
to  ruin,  and  down  to  the  chambers  of  black  despair. 
This  custom  of  boys  and  young  men  sleeping  in  the 
store  is  a  sore  evil  under  the  sun ;  and  intrusting 
them  with  the  frant  door-key  of  the  store  is  a  sore 
temptation  to  steal  from  the  till  by  day,  that  they 
may  spend  it  in  the  houses  aforesaid  by  night.  Re- 
member—wj^fco  murdered  Ellen  Jewett ! 

Beside,  dramatic  representations  unfit  the   mind 
for  the  steady  routine  of  business,  and  for  all  the  sober 
realities  of  life.    Let  any  one  walk  into  the  stores  on 
Broadway  or  Pearl- street  between  the  hours  of  three 
and  four,  while  their  employers  are  gone  to  their 
dmners,  and  the  clerks   will   be   seen  standing  in 
groups  with  pen  stuck  behind  the  ear,  the  bales,  the 
bills,  the  day-book  and  ledgers  all  unstrung,  while 
they  are  comparing  notes  about  Celeste's  dancing. 
Wood's  singing,  or  Flynn's  playing,  Sfc.    Should  an 
undertaker  step  in  at  this  moment  and  ask  for  black 
kid  gloves,  so  engaged  are  they  in  this  all-important 
discussion,  and  so  loath  are  they  to  be  interrupted 
m  their  favorite  and  all-engrossing  subject,  that  the 
poor   grave-digger  is   frowned  from  the  threshold 
with  an  abrupt  and  surly  No !  although  the  abomi- 
nable rascals   know  that  they  have  fifty  dozen  of 
that  self-same  article  lying  on  the  shelf  at  that  very 
moment.   Self-interest  and  common  sense  make  them 

keen    flipir   t*\raa    rx-n     4-Ur^i..  1 1 1     1    Ml  1    .-  .        . 

--_„ .  ^-^- ._•:..  vii  fciicii,  uuua.s  iiiiu  Diiis  Will ie  their 


72 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


employers  are  present,  but  even  then  the  hand  is 
often  still   and   the  eyes   shut  over  the  day-book 
while  the  mind  is  running  riot  over  the  wild  intoxica- 
tmg  scenes  they  have  witnessed  in  the   opera   or 
play  house  the  night  previous ;  in  their  sleep  they 
talk  and  dream  of  nothing  else,  and  at  their  desks 
they  are  still  haunted  by  the  same  delusion.    At  one 
period  of  my  life  I  was  one  of  the  helps  in  D.  Dun- 
ham's large  vendue  concern  in  Pearl-street,  and  al- 
though  he  was  the  sharpest  business  man  in  the 
street,  I  often  witnessed  the  above  and  similar  blast- 
ing effects  of  dramatic  representations,  even  among 
his  clerks.    Beside,  it  is  an  awful  murder  of  time, 
to  sit  three  nights  in  a  week,  from  seven  to  eleven' 
learning  nothing  but  what  is  worse  than  nothing: 
debasing  and  paralyzing  the  mind. 

If  our  city  fathers,  all  over  the  continent,  would 
close  the  theatres  for  only  five  yean  by  way  of  ex^ 
periment,  they  would  find  the  candidates  for  the  gal- 
lows, prison  and  penitentiaries,  to  diminish  fifty-fold 
I  don't  ask  whether  you  believe  in  tho  Bible,  in  the 
devil  or  in  hell,  but  you  all  profess  to  be  promoters 
of  the  public  good.   Well  then,  if  those  who  are  guar- 
dians  of  the  public  weal  would  look  on  the  thou- 
sands of  boys  and  children  of  both  sexes  that  beset 
the  doors,  obstruct  the  walks,  and  throng  the  streets 
m  front  of  these  temples  of  vanity,  listen  to  their 
oaths  and  profane  language,  (God  help  the  city  when 
these  boys  are  aldermen,)  and  say,  if  the  causes  of 
such  gatherings  are  not  a  public  nuisance. 


GRAiNT   THORBUKN. 


73 


Twenty  years  ago  there  was  no  theatre  in  Roches- 
ter ;  they  were  then  a  quiet,  steady,  sobersided  fra- 
ternity of  wheat  flour  grinders.    There  started  from 
New- York  a  company  of  players ;  they  stopped  at 
Albany  to  scratch  up  what  they  could  catch ;  (it  was 
precious  little;)  they  pushed  through  the  canal  with 
their  kettle-drums  and  fiddlesticks,  their  bass-drums 
and  clarionettes,  their  supernumeraries   and  door- 
keepers ;  females  and  bottle-holders,  broom-sweep- 
ers  and  candle-snuflers-a  motley  group  :  they  enter- 
ed  the  town  like  Death  on  a  paJe  horse,  and  all  hell 
followed  after— and  what  is  Rochester  now  I    But  to 
draw  to  a  close,  (as  brother  Miller  said  after  a  two 
hours'  lecture  on  the  propriety  of  burning  the  world 
last  St.  Patrick's  day,)  I  would  only  remark,  that  for 
the  three  years  just  gone  by  theatricals  are  getting 
every  day  in  less  repute.    There  is  one  reason  for 
this,  as  I  think,  and   for  which  we  have  to  thank 
the  Harpers,  Winchesters,  Benjamins  and  others, 
VIZ.  the  cheapness  of  books.   Young  men  are  struck 
when  they  see  a  book  that  formerly  used  to  sell  for 
three  dollars,  now  advertised  for  25  cents— the  title 
attracts  them,  they  can  purchase  as  many  for  what 
they  formerly  paid  for  a  play  ticket,  as  will  keep  them 
reading  at  night  for  a  month ;  thus  the  charm  of  the 
theatre  is  broken—the  infatuation  dispelled;  he  has 
time  to  think ;  he  has  chanced  on  Astronomy,  the  sub- 
limest  of  all  earthly  sciences ;  the  more  he  reads  the 
more  he  admires  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God ;  he 

now  looks  bn^'ir  ixrifU  ^^,-«-.fc ^t-_  .• 

--va.fl  !.„..,-.  .,^^„  icgict  uu  iuu  time  auu  money 


Miirnrtili'i  l|»l^mMriri'Hi»i  %i  SJiV^ 


mmmmmmm 


n 


I  ! 


R£Mlr4I8CBKC£3   OF 


he  has  spent  for  nothing,  Ptid  worse  than  nothing, 
and  vanity  r  he  sees  he  haa  a  part  of  his  own  to  per- 
form 'ucu^  (  .3  fellows,  and  having  buckled  on  his 
amiuf,  ic  resolved  to  play  his  part  like  a  man. 


Remlnlscenoea  of  Thomas   Palnet 


-"  crone,  whose  hand, 


■t  I 


"  Like  the  base  Jodsean,  threw  a  pearl  away,  * 
*•  Richer  thpji  all  his  tribe." 

I  think  it  was  in  1801,  when  Mr.  Jefferson,  being 
firmly  established  iii  the  throne  of  his  kingdom,  dest 
patched  a  vessel  of  war  to  bring  from  i  ranee  the  in- 
comparable Thomas  Paine,  author  of  the  Rights  of 
Man.  Common  Sense,  &c.    Mr.   i^aine  ha.    jjst  es- 
caped, as  if  by  miracle,  from    he  guillotine,  wrought 
by  the  sturdy  airas  of  the  brethren  of  ms  own  cloth, 
who  thought,  as  apj  -ared  by  their  deeds,  that  a  man 
never  md  got  his      11  s?w  'i  of  rights  till  t  ice  the 
had  clipped  the  head  from  his  shoulders.    Ke  came 
to  New-y -"k  and  pnt  up  at  the  City  Hotel.    Next 
day,  about  9  a.  m.  a  gentleman  came  into  ny  store 
and  reported  that  Mr,  Paine  was  then  standing  on 
the  steps  of  the  'tott  door.    With  t\/o  ge  ulemen 
who  happened  t     b      i  the  stort    we  sail       out  to 
have  a  look  at  him ;  bu  just  as  wc  came  in  view  he 
had  returned  inside.  While  I  stood  considering  how 


\i< 


\ 


epANT   TIIORBURN. 


75 


nothing, 
n  to  per- 
ed  on  his 


m. 


>n,  being 
om,  des- 
e  the  in- 
sights of 
jdst  es- 
wrought 
ra  cloth, 
It  a  man 
ice  the 
le  came 
1.    Next 
ny  store 
^''  3  on 
itlemen 
ii  out  to 
view  he 
iner  how 


to  get  a  sight  of  him  I  saw  Samuel  Loudon,  the 
printer,  enter  the  hotel.    This  Samuel  Loudon  was 
a  sober-oided  old  Scotchman,  and  a  stanch  Wliig. 
When   Lord  Howe  took  possession  of  New- York 
Samuel  fled  with  his  types,  black-balls  and  prinung- 
devils,  and    joined    the    army  under  Washington. 
When  Washington  wrote  a  proclamation,  Samuel 
was  sure  to  print  it.     Dr.  Rogers — who  was  many 
years  minister  in  Wall-street — was  there  too,  preach- 
ing about  the  sword  of  the   Lord  and  of  Washing- 
ton, till  the  fer  ws  fought  like  the  Highlanders  at 
the  battle  of  W  aterloo.    Dr.  Rogers'  son  was  there 
too  :  he  was  a  doctor  of  physic ;  and  when  the  sol- 
diers got  their  legs  broke  in  the  storming  of  batteries, 
he  coopered  them  up,  and  set  them  a  marching  again 
as  soon  as  possible.    All  this  I  learned  while  con- 
ersing  with  Mr.  Loudon.   But  to  return  to  Thomas 
I  'aine.     As  I  knew  that  Mr.  Loudon  and  he  were  co- 
patriots  through  the  whole  of  the  American  revolu- 
'oij    r  presumed  Mr.  L.  was  going  to  see  his  old 
a  i     d ;  and  if  so,  I  could  thus  get  an  introduction  to 
Mr.  Paine.     So  in  I  went.    A  servant  was  sweeping 
the  passage.     "Is  Mr.  Paine    at  home?"   said   L 
*'  Yes."  "  In     .  room  1"  "  Yes."  -  Alono  V  «  Yes." 
Here  I  was  p      out— if  he  was  alone,     uadno  intro- 
duction.    But       was   determined  now  to  see  him. 
Come  whnt  will,  thought  I,  he  wrote  the  Rights  of 
Man— he  won't  dei.y  my  rigiit  to  look  upon  his  an 
gus   ^jersoij,  and  being  ^Ime  I  will  introduce  myself. 
** Can  I  see  li -n  1"    "Foil    v  me,"    He  u«l>ArA.l  r«o 


) 


76 


REMINISCENCES   OP 


breakf  J     A      "T'  ^"^^^  "'^  '^"0  was  set  for 
breakfast.    A  gentleman  was  at  the  table  writing 
anoI.er  reading  the  newspaper,  and  at  the  farther  Ind 

wartnT  f  °^'™S-  >='"k.  coarse-looking  figure 
warming  hMhmd-quarters  before  the  fire.  From  the 
resemblance  the  latter  person  bore  to  por  ra"  I 
ha  1  seen  .n  his  book,  I  knew  it  wu,  Paine"^  WMe 

i  fonn".        ■'   •^'  ^  P'"'"  '■"P-Wican  «/„„.,.  but  when 
«°"ght  I,  I  am  in  for  it-get  out  as  well  as  I  can 

MrSTn'th"  '"^  "''^'^"^  ''  ''«-!eln    B 
Mr.l'ame.n  this  roomV  He  stepped  toward  L 

and  answered    ..My  name  is  Paine^-'  I  held  o l^;' 
nand,  anu  taking  h  s,  savs  I    '«  Mv  "Po-  i     ^ 

genUe^en,  will  ^pWs'e  /l'.  m  '  abrT;*  ^  .rf 

yourcSsitv  r/^'-y ''^'PPy  "'  being  able  to  satisfy 

^-a;rdUS:L^7.rrtZ'^:s 

WM.  sound  :f\S^^^^^^ 
-TLlseen  TL'r^P  ■''  ''^^  '"^'^  '^"^h  that  win 

"  OhTyes     it's  ?h  T    °r  '■""  ""'"  S™"«"^"  ^"    / 

awaytoa'coff  \  "'*°'"'^^™«"-"  They  hied 

away  to  a  coffee-house,  then  at  the  corner  of  Wall 


ORANT  THORBUBN. 


77 


and  Water-streefs ;  they  reported  the  matter,  with 
additions  and  improvementB ;  and  as  the  story  tra- 
veiled  it  grew  larger  with  every  version,  till  it  became 
quite  a  farce  at  length.  One  said  that  I  told  Paine 
that  he  was  a  great  muckle  beast,  and  that  it  was  for 
reading  and  lending  his  Rights  of  Man  that  I  was 
compelled  to  leave  my  country,  &c.  &c. 

At  that  time  I  was  clerk  in  the  Scotch  Presbyte- 
rian Church  in  Cedar-street.  The  kirk  session  took 
the  alarm,  an  extra  meeting  was  convened,  and  I  was 
suspended  from  psalm-singing  for  three  months, 
because  I  had  shaken  hands  with  Thomas  Paine. 

A  few  years  after  this,  when  Mr.  Paine  had  fallen 
into  disrepute,  and  his  company  was  shunned  by  the 
more  respectable  of  his  friends  on  account  of  his  un- 
popular writings  and  hard  drinking,  he  boarded  in 
the  house  of  William  Carver,  a  blacksmith  and  horse- 
doctor.    This  Carver  and  I  had  been  journeymen  in 
the  same  shop  ten  years  prior  to  this  period ;  so  hav- 
ing free  access  to  the  house,  I  frequently  called  to 
converse  with  Mr.  Paine.    One  evening  he  related 
the  following  anecdote.    He  said  it  was  in  the  reign 
of  Robespierre,  when  every  republican  that  the  mon- 
ster could  get  in  his  power  was  cut  down  by  the 
knife  of  the  guillotine,  Paine  was  in  the  dungeon 
and  his  name  was  on  the  list,  with  twenty-four  others' 
ordered  for  execution  next  morning.  It  was  custom- 
ary for  the  clerk  of  the  tribunal  to  go  through  the 
cells  at  night,  and  put  a  cross  with  chalk  on  the  back 
Qi  UiQ  door  of  such  as  were  to  be  guillotined.    In  the 

7* 


78 


REMmiSCENCIS  OF 


11 


mommg,  w&en  the  executioner  came  'vith  his  <ruar<3 
wherever  they  found  a  chalk  the  victim  was  brought 
iorth  There  was  a  long  passage  in  the  cellar  of  this 
Bastile,  havmg  a  row  of  cells  on  each  side  containing 
the  prisoners;  the  passage  was  secured  at  each  end 
but  the  doors  of  the  cells  were  left  open  through  the 
day,  and  the  prisoners  stepped  into  one  another's 

i  TlTit"""''^"/-    ^^'""^  ''^"^  Sone  into  the  next  cell 

I  and  lefthis  own  dooropen  backto  the  wall, thus haviig 

the  door  .nside  out.  Just  then  came  the  chalkers,  and 
probably  being  drunk,  crossed  the  inside  of  Paine's 
door.    Next  morning,  when  the  guard  came  with  an 
order  to  bring  out  twenty-four,   and  finding  only 
twenty-three  chalks,  (Paine  being  in  bed  and  the 
door  shut,)  they  took  a  prisoner  from  the  further  end 
of  the  passage,  and  thus  made  up  the  number ;  so  Mr 
Paine  escaped.    Before  the  mistake  was  discovered 
or  about  fortyeight  hours  after,  a  stronger  party  than 
Robespierre's  cut  off  hi,  head  and  about  thirty  of  his 
associates-so  Paine  was  set  at  liberty;  and  being 
afraid  to  trust  his  head  among  the  good  republican! 
for  whom  he  had  written  so  much,  he  made  the  best 
ot  his  way  to  this  country. 

I  asked  him  what  he  thought  of  this  miraculous  es- 
cape? He  said  :  ■•  The  fates  had  ordained  1  was  not 
to  die  at  that  time."  Said  I,  "  Mr.  Paine.  I  will  tell 
you  what  I  think.  You  have  written  and  spoken 
much  against  what  we  call  the  religion  of  the  Bible  • 
you  h-ve  highly  extolled  the  perfectibility  of  human 

reason  wiien  Inft  t"  ^f ■'-  •     ..   -. 

I.  "=  viTii  guiuance,  unsnacttied  by 


GRANT   THORBtJIlN. 


79 


priestcraft  and  superstition;  the  God  of  Providence 
(for  neither  Hume,  Gibbon,  Voltaire,  nor  thyself  can 
tell  what  fates  mean)  has  spared  your  life,  and  sent 
you  here,  that  you  might  give  to  the  people  of  this 
country,  where  your  writings  were  so  very  popular, 
a  living  comment  on  your  own  doctrines,  and  to  show' 
to  all  the  world  what  human  nature  is  when  left  by 
the  Creator  to  wander  in  its  own  counsels.  Here  you 
sit,  in  an  obscure,  uncomfortable  dwelling,  bedaubed 
with  snuff  and  stupified  with  brandy  j— -you,   who 
were  once  the  companion  of  Washington,  Jay,  and 
Hamilton,  are  now  deserted  by  every  good  man,  and 
even  respectable  Deists  cross  the  streets  to  avoid 
you."    He  said :  "  I  care  not  a  straw  for  the  opinions 
of  the  world."    Said  I :  "I  envy  not  your  feelings." 
So  we  parted.    In  short,  he  was  the  most  disgusting 
human  being  you  could  meet  in  the  street.   Through 
the  effects  of  intemperance,    his   countenance  was 
bloated  beyond  description— he  looked  as  if  the  mark 
of  Cain  was  stamped  upon  his  face.    A  few  of  his  dis- 
ciples, to  hide  him  from  the  gaze  of  men,  conveyed 
him  to  Greenwich,  where  they  supplied  him  with 
brandy  till  he  died. 

One  evening  I  found  him  -vith  ten  or  twelve  of 
his  disciples  in  company.  As  usual,  he  was  abusing 
the  Bible  for  being  the  cause  of  every  thing  that  is 
bad  m  the  world.  When  he  stopped,  I  said  :  "  Mr. 
Paine,  you  have  been  in  Ireland  and  other  Roman 
Catnohc  countries,  where  the  priests  forbid  the  use 
of  the  iiible  to  the  people  j  and  if  they  have  the  Bible, 


80 


R»MINI»CEI»CE8   OP 


never  having  been  learned,  they  can't  read  it-»o  of 

ceded,  and  1  continued:  "You  have  been  in  Scot- 
land, ,vh.ch  i,  full  of  Bibles,  and  where  eve>t  mTn 
woman  and  child  can  and  does  read  it."    Ihlld 

lTCf\  "^^"•"-''I.  "if  the  Bible  we'ea 
bad  book,  those  who  used  it  most  would  be  the 
worn  people ;    but  the  contrary,  is  the   factlfor! 

rTe  are  fiVd"  •  f'"^"^"--'  P"-"^  and  penitentia: 
.Te  B  ble   !    ""*  '^""'l"'  '"'■'^'Sners  who  never  saw 

Jve  .ike   live  with,  and  arett^nl'^p  ^^2 
brues  that  perish;  in  Scotland  the  peasantry  are 
Sr ;." '^--  ;"<^---.  -d  live  L  coSaS 
st7u  E  L     h    ;';'\"'°'"'""'  ^^  I  stopped,  the  clock 
sto^f  '«»-•'«    'fted  one  of  the  two  candles  that 
stood  on  the  table,  and  without  a  word  in  replv  or 
even  a  good  night,  walked  up  stairs  to  bed,  £^1 
h.s  fronds  and  me  to  draw  our  own  conclusion!       ^ 
Snortly  after  this  a  man  was  hung  for  murder    He 
walked  with  a  steady  step  from  the  old  Bridewellt 
the  P„k  to  a  hill  which  stood  on  the  west  Td"  If 
Broadway,  near  the  comer  of  Leonard-street,  whJe 
the  ga^ws  was  erected,  a  clergyman  on  each  side  of 
h.m-all  three  s.ng.ng  a  hymn.    When  anived  at  the 
ganows  he  mounted  the  cart  and  stood  ,  n  his  coffin 
Before  he  left  the  prison  a  rope  of  about  two  fee 
long,  havmg  a  small  iron  hook  attached  to  it,  was  p« 
round  h>s  neck.    From  the  gallows  was  .ZTJT. 


it— so,  of 
was  con- 
in  Scot- 
ery  man, 
lis  he  ac- 
B  were  a 
!  be   the 
let — for, 
nitentia- 
)ver  saw 
n  one  of 
Basantry 
bove  the 
try   are 
fortable 
»e  clock 
les  that 
9ply,  or 
leaving 
ns. 

3r.    He 
well  in 
side  of 
whore 
side  of 
1  at  the 
coffin. 
vo  feet 
^as  put 


i 


ORANT  THOBBt^l^-.  jj 

another  rope,  having  a  similar  hook  at  the  end  of  it 
Being  told  that  the  hour  was  expiring,  he  proved  two 
— es,  then  took  hold  of  the  hook^'whifh  hungZ 
h.8  back,  gave  it  a  catch  on  the  hook  suspended  from 
the  crostree  of  the  gallows,  the  cart  dnL  from  un 
der  him,  and  he  died  without  a  struggle 
Being  in  company  with  Mr.  Paine  that  same  even- 

What  thought  you  of  the  scene  1"   "  I  thought  th« 

man  behaved  with  much  fortitude."   Said  I    ■' Mr 

Paine,  what  you  call  the  delusion  of  the  Bible  wi 

his  man's  support  in  that  trying  hour."    He  ^d^ 

at  the  suk"e"  ;7''\'^^*"<"'S  while  roasting 

"Bern,  »    -         1  r  ^^  ''  ^'^'"^i'  "^  *«  '»'">  did." 
Because,     said  I,  "ho  believes  he  is  going  to  io  n 

his  kindred  ,n  the  hunting  grounds,  where  derCe 

rurk-at  death  he  hopes  to  pass  into  elysian  fields 
where  he  may  pick  up  a  dozen  handsom'e  Ws  for 
nothing,  and  swallow  flagons  of  wine  for  ever  with 
out  getting  drunk.    B,.t  you  have  nn  L 
chief  ambjion  is  to  live  li/e  :l'XVZT:Z7 
and  to  find  a  dog's  damnation,  (viz.  annihilation  W 
would  rather  believe  with  a  Turk  o.  an  Ind Tnian 
•n  your  creed;  but  the  christian's  is  a  reasonable 
and  rational  hope-he  trusts  in  no  less  a  power"  ha„ 
n  Him  who  made  the  worlds  above;  who  counts 
the  number  of  the  stars  and  calls  them  by  their  r^ht 
names;  who  counts  the  hairs  on  ourlad^  aTd  wt 
takes  noting  nf  th^  ^„li  „r  _  '     ""  ^"" 

^"-  ^*"  "^  «  sparrow  as  much  as  he 


82 


REMINISCENCES   OP 


does  of  the  crash  of  an  empire.    Thus  trusting,  he 
is  supported  through  the  troubles  of  life.    When  he 
breaks  an  arm,  he  is  thankful  it  was  not  his  leg ;  if 
he  breaks  a  leg,  he  thanks  God  it  was  not  his  neck  : 
this  keeps  him  in  perfect  peace.    But  you  have  no 
peace  or  comfort  in  this  life,  and  no  hope  in  death. 
Besides,    the    christian  has    the  advantage   of  you 
both  ways ;  he  has  a  support  here,  which  you  are 
ignorant  of;  he  has  a  hope  beyond  the  grave,  which 
you  laugh  at.     If  your  creed  is  true,  he  hhs  nothing 
to  lose ;  but  if  his  creed  is  true,  you  lose  your  own 
soul." 

He  looked  earnestly  in  my  face  for  a  few  mo- 
ments.  "Why,  Grant,"  said  he,  "thee*  had  better 
throw  away  thy  hammer  and  turn  preacher:  thee 
would  make  a  good  Methodist  parson." 


^AAA^^^MM% 


,      Cheap  Times. 

"  High-dreaming  hards  have  told 
••  Of  timet  when  worth  was  crown'd  and  faith  was  kept, 
"  Ere  Friendship  grew  a  snare  or  Love  waa'd  cold— 
••  Those  pure  and  happy  Umes-tbe  golden  days  of  oU." 

December  2,  1843. 
Of  late  much  has  been  read,  said  and  sung  about 
cheap  pnnting  and  its  moral  tendency ;  but,  before  we 

•  In  his  youth  he  lived  among  the  Friends  clu  father  be- 
longed  to  the  Society. 


GRANT   THOBBURN. 


83 


analyze  the  subject,  (as  Dr.  Chilton  says,  when  he  is 
hunting  in  an  empty  stomach  in  search  of  ratsbane,) 
we  must  first  make  a  preface,  as  Dickens  made  his 
"  Notes."  I  have  hardly  ever  seen  anything  so  ridi- 
culous as  a  book  without  a  preface,  except  when  we 
saw  Dickens  in  the  theatre,  surrounded  by  lasses  of 
sixteen  and  matrons  of  sixty — their  gray  locks  shorn 
close  to  the  skull,  and  their  hoary  scalps  covered 
with  a^black  matting  of  maidens'  hair — with  needle- 
book  and  bodkin  in  one  hand,  and  a  pair  of  scissors 
in  the  other :  all  squeezing  round  to  cut  off  a  pinch 
of  his  gray  English  hair. 

So  much  for  princesses  in  a  country  where  all  are 
sovereigns.  But  this  is  a  digression,  and  you  may 
look  for  more  of  them ;  as  I  write  for  nothing  and 
find  myself,  I  am  not  bound  to  stick  to  one  point. 
However,  we  will  return  to  the  cheap  books.  Every- 
thing is  cheap  in  this  country :  we  have  flour  at  $3 
per  barrel  in  Michigan;  potatoes  at  75  cents  per 
barrel  at  Buffalo ;  beef  at  3  cents  and  pork  at  2h 
cents  per  pound  at  Cincinnati ;  we  have  cheap  to- 
bacco in  Richmond,  sweet  potatoes  in  Carolina, 
cheap  onions  in  Wethersfield,  and  cheap  board  in 
Albany.  You  may  buy  an  oath  in  the  Subterranean 
Court,  or  at  some  of  the  polls,  for  a  dollar,  and  get 
shaved  in  Wall-street  for  two  per  cent,  a  month.  In- 
deed, eTetything  is  cheap  in  this  country,  denio- 
cracj  r^my  excepted;  and  what  with  time  andmoney 
^ent  at  ward  meetings,  club  meetings.  Park  and 

|e,  handbille  and  advertising,  polls, 


iliUliXliy   lUViii 


.  ^SSB'k 


8« 


RKMINISCfiNCES    OF 


elections  &c. ;  and  then  when  seated  i„  office  thev 
become  defaulters  in  the  Custom-house  th!  R  \  ^ 
house,  the  Post-office,  the  Wa^ot  ^^  ^evS" 
office  and  place  of  trust-I  verilv  Cm.?  '"  ''"'^^y 

it.^'=r-r:rr.;*— ■■■'- 
..»';'.r;:"rTr:;3rs 
wo  pints  of  bl?'  '"r^  *^  "ewspaper.'drink 

-meCs  staX;  Imit  '  M  'r^'  ^^^^™'  -"^ 

they  spent  S    ^i^  ,     '''°'''  ^'  "'«'''•    Thus 

fh    s!^^  u  P^""  '^^^'''  (f<"-  ^""ne  of  them  put 

ttic  oabbath  evenino-«   i«  *i,  •  ,  "icax  put 

«68  12i  per  annu^  u   '=^'«'''S"«'.)  making 

are  wn.c     *i    "^^  ^^,®^  equal.   Now,  scores  of  them 


f 


GRANT    THORBURN. 


85 


ixiliary 
om  the 
iee  the 
I  litera- 
erance 
id  rae- 
e  their 
nigki  : 
joum- 

drink 
s,  and 

Thus 
n  put 
akinar 

keep 
years 
>  true 
them 
:e  an 

him 
iano, 


n 


instead  of  making  his  shirts-shopping  in  Broadway, 
m  place  of  mending  his  stockings -leaving  cards  in 
Bond-street,    Ann-street,  Park-place   and    Swamp- 
place,  when  they  ought  to  be  in  the  kitchen  to  see 
how  the  cook  got  the  apple  inside  of  the  dumpling. 
Uut  I  have  forgotten  the  cheap  books  again.  Well 
to  return  to  our  mechanics.    Now,  when  they  come 
home  at  mght,  having  finished  supper,  they  find  on 
the  mantel-piece  a  newspaper  for  a  cent,  and  a  his- 
tory of  the  stout  barons  in  England,  who  compelled 
Kmg  John  to  sign  the  ilf^,a  CAarta,  for  twenty, 
five  cents,    this  book  cost  thirty  shillings  sterling  in 
London  )    Indeed  they  can  buy  as  many  books  for 
ten  sbllrngs  and  sixpence,  only  one  week's  beer  .core 
as  W.11  keep  them  reading  for  a  twelvemonth;   be- 

books  ...,  ,ood  for  the  mind.  Formerly,  they  rose  in 

the  mornmg  wah  a  sore  head  and  a  sick  heart,  their 

deasall..conlu.;,„  worse  confounded,"  no^  they 

nse  with  the  lark,^  .....ing  ,.  el,„  h^.j  \^^  ^       fj 

conscience.    Thev  *>r   ^  -  .  »  .i,     i  i_  quiec 

Hl,»,i,  ^ney  e.   ,H   on  the  labors  of  the  day 

like  the  sun  gomg  forth  in  his  strength;  and  while 
their  hands  are  employed  in  the  he  wing  of  wood  and 
drawing  of  vvater,  their  thoughts  are^fighting  over 
again  the  battles  of  Wellington,  which  thf y  refdTho 
night  previous  m  Alison's  Hiatory  of  Europe  thus  be 

sf  BeL  °""  "''''""  -^  -^■'-/ti-  si- 
short.    Besides,   many    young  men   who  formerly 


•An  European  bird, 
8 


an  pnvltr  fL'An~. 


-o"*^** 


r-^r 


86 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


spent  their  nights  in  that  church  of  thed  evil  and 
road  to  hell—the  theatre— now  stay  at  home  and 
read  cheap  books. 

N.  B.  I  must  add  now,  by  way  of  postscript,  friend 
Park,  (and  you  must  print  every  line  of  this  rhap- 
sody, else  don't  print  any,)  that  it  has  been  said 
that  some  of  your  books  are  rather  of  a  black  concern. 
It  maybe  so,  for  I  have  not  read  the  "Mysteries  of 
Paris,"  and  can't  tell :  and,  if  it  is,  you  are  no  worse 
than  your  neighbors ;  but  as  two  blacks  won't  make 
a  white,  I  advise  you  to  mend  your  manners— you 
are  not  too  old  to  learn.  But,  is  it  not  enough  to  make 
the  devil  blush  to  hear  men  blame  the  Messrs.  Har- 
pers and  yourself  for  only  printing  the  theory,  while 
they  themselves  send  or  carry  their  sons  and  daugh- 
ters to  Paris,  where  they  may  learn  the  same  things  in 
practice  1  And  is  it  not  strange  to  see  these  guardians 
of  the  public  weal  carry  their  sons,  daughters  and 
wives  to  the  play-house,  where  they  may  see  groups 
of  French  and  Italian  ny?nphs,  dancing  in  frocks  of  the 
same  longitude  that  they  wore  when  only  ten  years 
old  1    There  are  some  lordly  democrats  who  send 
their  daughters  to  Baltimore  to  finish  their  education 
in  a  nunnery :  and  a  pretty  sort  of  a  finish  they  make 
of  it ;  better  they  had  sent  them  to  the  female  aca- 
demy at  Hackensack,  where  they  might  learn  some 
common  sense  among  the  Dutch  laeses^-an  article 
they  can  never  acquire  in  a  nunnery. 


GRANT  THORBTTRN. 


87 


The  Hone  and  his  Rider. 

"Up  hill, indulge  hlm-down  the  deep  descent, 
'Spare-and  don't  urge  him  when  hi.  strength  i.  spent; 
Impel  him  briskly  o'er  the  level  earth, 
"  But  in  his  stable  don't  forget  his  worth." 

Many  who  keep  horses  are  not  aware  that  they  are 
th.nk.ng  ammals,  and  have  feelings,  passions  and 
affections  very  much  like  human  beings,  although 
they  cannot  talk.  People  who  do  not  appreciate  the 
character  of  the  horse,  are  apt  to  treat  him  without 
ove  or  mercy,  and  without  any  appeal  to  his  natural 
int«ihgence.  "  The  horse  knoweth  his  owner,"  and 
much  more:  he  knows  when  he  is  used  as  a  horso 
should  be;  and  in  respect  to  treatment,  the  Turk 
and  Arab  have  much  the  advantage  of  many  christians 
I  could  name.  The  Pagans  make  friends  of  their 
horses ;  they  love  each  other,  and  on  the  sandy  desert 
or  the  wild  plain  they  lie  down  side  by  side,  and 
each  IS  equally  ready  to  resist  the  approach  of  an 
enemy.  '^'^ 

A  horse  may  be  taught  like  a  child  by  those  who 
have  won  his  affections;  but  the  method  of  teaching 
.3  by  showing  distinctly  what  you  wish  him  to  do! 
not  by  beating  him  because  he  does  not  understand 
and  perform  at  the  outset  all  you  desire.  Hordes, 
like  men,  have  very  different  intellectual  capacities 
and  tempers ;  but  all  may  be  mastered  by  kindness, 
while  t,.e  best,  the  most  high-spirited  and  the  most 
^  «„x  ^^.  ^.^.„c«  uj  uaroa  treatment. 


iwiii»wi|impii  'MniwiiiinB  4mi*"«i 


^ 


in 


88 


BEMINISCENCES   OF 


At  the  circus  you  have  ocular  do  .onstration  that 
the  horse  uiulerstands  the  langunge  of  <  >,  and  man 
may  learn  more  virtues  tlian  one  if  he  \'  ill  observe 
the  habits  of  his  horse.  ••  Ask  tli  beast,  hi!  will 
teach  thee  J" 

To  illustrate  the  position  that  a  horse,  by  kindness, 
may  become  as  docile  and  as  fond  of  hi  maste  as  a 
dog,  I  will  tell  something  of  my  horse  Biiiy.  I  was 
out  with  iiim  before  a  light  wagon  ;  on  a  part  of  the 
way  a  fence  was  being  made  with  lime,  nnd  the  road 
was  encumbered  with  large  atones,  lime,  lim<  unrrels 
carts,  ox-chains,  &:c.  which  rendered  it  almos*  ' 
passable,  even  by  daylight.  I  was  detained  be)  id 
my  expectations,  and  by  the  time  I  arrived  t  sis 
dangerous  spot,  on  my  return,  it  was  so  dark  I  could 
not  Ai  tinguish  the  head  of  my  horse.  I  thought  of 
getting  out  to  lead  himj  but  this  was  impossible,  as 
the  frost  was  coming  out  of  the  ground,  and  had  I 
left  the  wagon  I  should  have  simk  to  the  knees  in 
mire.  When  we  came  to  this  spot  Billy  stopped  of 
hia  own  accord.  "  Now,  Billy,"  oaid  I,  ♦'  I  can't  see, 
and  can't  walk ;  you  must  try  and  not  upset  me." 
So  saying,  I  slacked  the  reins,  and  gave  him  his  own 
way.  It  was  a  ticklish  job,  but  he  mananfed-  it  nobly ; 
he  stopped  now  and  then  and  made  a  survey,  as 
carefully  as  did  the  men  who  ran  the  boundary  line 
two  years  ago;  he  turned,  and  tacked,  and  wore 
ship  like  an  old  seaman  among  breakers,  and  brought 
me  out  as  safe  as  a  steamer  beyond  the  overslaugh. 
"  Well  done,  Billy,"  said  I.     "  You  shall  have  a  good 


I 


la 


^il 


GRANT   THOR 


ion  that 

infl  man 

observe 

ln!  will 

in'ness, 
'tc  as  a 
I  was 
•t  of  the 
the  road 
barrels 

lOS     r 

be)     id 
t'iis 

I  could 
3ught  of 
sible,  as 
d  had  I 
:nees  in 
pped  of 
m't  see, 
St  me." 
his  own 
t  nobly ; 
vey,  as 
ary  line 
d  wore 
brought 
rslaugh. 

a  good 


89 


bed  ndfour  ^jartsofoatsassoonas  wegethome." 
While  I  kept  talking,  he  walked  at  a  slow  pace  as  if 
liMenii  ^.  -  Now,  Billy,"  said  I,  "  ye  may  gang  yer 
atn  gaU:*  He  clapped  his  feet  to  the  ground— he  is 
a  racker— and  in  ten  li,  luten  we  were  at  home.  As 
I  was  taking  off  his  harne. .,  T  kept  patting  and 
praising  him  occasionally ,  „  made  a  comfort- 

able bed  and  gave  him  his  br  which  he  seemed 

more  grateful  than  some  <  l,ose  iwa  legged  gentry 
who  scour  the  Third  Avenue,  for  they  neither  thank 
Uod  nor  man. 

^illy  is  a  white  Canadian  pony.  I  have  fed  him  for 
t.  u  years  past  with  my  own  hands,  and  generally  ca- 
ress and  talk  to  him  while  feeding,  so  that  now  he 
seems  to  understand  every  word  I  say  as  well  as  if 
he  had  been  bom  in  Scotland. 

I  knew  a  gentleman  who   bought  a  number  of 
cavalry  horses  at  public  sale  shortly  after  the  battle 
of  Waterloo ;  he  turned  them  loose  in  a  park  near 
London.    After  being  in  the  park  a  few  weeks,  there 
came  up  a  thunder-storm ;  at  the  time  the  horses 
were  busily  engaged  eating  the  grass ;  with  the  first 
flash  of  lightning  the  h  .ses  r  ised  their  heads,  pricked 
up  their  ears,  and  8..,od  in  the  act  of  listening  j  in  a 
moment  the  sound  of  the  thunder  came  rollirig  from 
afar  when  every  horse  galloped,  each  faster  than  his 
neighbor,  to  the  centre  of  the  field,  where  they  fell 
mto  line  as  regularly  as  if  backed  by  the  most  ex- 
penenced  life-guards.    In  a  few  minutes,  finding  it  a 

false   alarm     tTne^xr   miiAfLr   — •. i   .      .1     . 

y   ^»^j   tj«iwvxj   ictuiiiuu  CO  ineir   irrass 

8* 


t> 


^^a 
^^. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


2.0 


6" 


1.8 


11.25  ii.4    IIIIII.6 


V] 


v: 


-^ 


Kiotographic 

Sdences 

Corporation 


^v 


(0- 


n.^ 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

V'EBSTER.N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


^' 


k 


<^ 


.<"•' 


^'^e 


90 


REMINISCENCES   OP 


Where  is  the  man,  having  a  soul,  that  can  abuse  sucli 
an  animal  1 

I  knew  a  gentleman  who  occasionally  got  intoxi- 
cated, whose  horse  knew  when  his  master  was  drunk 
as  well  as  he  did  himself,  by  his  vacillating  motions 
when  mounted.  Upon  such  occasions  the  horse  would 
regulate  his  movements  so  as  to  prevent  his  master 
from  falling,  if  possible.     One  moonlight  evening  he 
staggered   out  of  Cato's,  or  some  of  the  hell-holes 
near  the  Third  Avenue,    and   was  helped  on  the 
saddle ;  but  he  fell  off  before  he  had  gone  a  mile, 
and  his  foot  hung  in  t|ie  stirrup.     His  horse  stopped 
and  stood  still.     Her©  was  a  theme  for  a  picture — a 
comment  upon  the  text :  **  Ask  the  beast,  he  will  teach 
thee."     There  stood  the  compassionate  horse,  the 
big  tear  rolling  in  his  eye,  looking  with  sorrow  upon 
hi|  drunken  master,  and  revolving  in  his  mind  how 
best  he  should  help  him.     At  length  he  griped  the 
brim  of  his  hat  with  his  teeth,  but  this  gave  way, 
and  again  the  drunkard's  head  smote  the  ground. 
He  then  seized  hold  of  the  collar  of  his  coat,  and  thus 
held  him  up  till  he  was  able  to  extricate  his  foot  from 
the  stirrup.     His  master  having  now  become  some- 
what sobered  by  the  loss  of  blood  and  his  fright, 
was  able  to  mount  again  and  keep  his  saddle,  and 
arrived  home  safe.     Soon  after  this  the  man  joined 
the  Temperance  Society,  and  h  now  a  useful  and 
happy  man.     It  is  now  more  than  ten  years  since 
this  occurred,  but  the  horse  is  still  kept  and  treated 
like  one  of  the  family,  and  will  be  till  he  dies. 


use  such 

t  intoxi- 
as  drunk 
motions 
je  would 
3  master 
3ning  he 
ell-holes 
on  the 
a  mile, 
stopped 
;ture— a 
ill  teach 
rse,  the 
)w  upon 
nd  how 
pad  the 
ve  way, 
ground, 
md  thus 
)ot  from 
e  some- 
j  fright, 
lie,  and 
1  joined 
ful  and 
'S  since 
treated 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


91 


I  have  seen  a  horse  at  an  exhibition,  which,  upon  a 
watch  being  held  before  him,  and  he  asked  what 
time  it  was— happening  to  be  four  o'clock— struck 
the  floor  four  times  with  his  foot. 

A  friend  of  mine  in  Brooklyn  has  a  horse  which 
when  asked  by  his  master  to  salute  the  company,  will 
place  himself  against  the  wall,  and  standing  upon  his 
hmd  feet,  nod  with  his  head  to  the  company. 

A  friend  of  mine  had  a  valuable  horse  stolen  from 
his  stable,  for  which  a  large  reward  was  offered  and 
diligent  search  made,  but  to  no  purpose.      Having 
changed  masters  several  times,  he  was  at  length  rode 
by  a  gentleman  whose  business  led  him  through  the 
place  from  which  the  horse  had  been  stolen,  and 
when  4ie  came  opposite  his  old  master's  house  he 
marched  directly  up  and  put  his  head  over  the  half- 
door,  and  commenced  neighing.     His  rider  kicked, 
spurred,  coaxed  and  whipped,  but  to  no  purpose  :  to 
move  him  was  impossible.     A  crowd  gathered  around 
him,  and  among  these  was  his  old  master.     They  re- 
cognized  each  other   immediately,   the  master  by 
naming  his  horse,  and  the  horse  by  laying  his  head 
on  his  master's  shoulder.      The  rider  gave  a  fair 
account  of  his  purchase,  and  so  did  the  next  and  the 
next,  until  it  came  to  the  thief,  who  was  committed 
lor  trial. 

Some  years  ago  a  favorite  old  hunter  belonginrr  to 
a  gentleman  in  Somersetshire,  England,  being  locked 
m  the  stable,  and  hearing  the  sound  of  a  French 
„.orR  and  the  cry  of  the  houuds,  became  very  restive. 


92 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


I 


The  hostler  going  into  the  stable  thought  the  spirited 
animal  wanted  some  sport,  and  instantly  saddled  him, 
and  placing  a  large  monkey  upon  the  saddle,  turned 
him  loose.  The  horse  following  the  sound  soon 
joined  the  pack,  and  was  one  of  the  first  in  at  the 
death  of  poor  Reynard.  But  the  amazement  of  the 
sporting  gentlemen  was  greatly  heightened  by  ob- 
serving the  monkey  holding  the  reins  with  all  the 
dexterity  of  a  true  sportsman. 

A  gentleman  who  owned  a  great  many  horses  was 
m  the  habit  of  turning  them  loose  in  a  field  to  graze, 
in  the  summer.      Among  them  was  a  horse  stone' 
blind.     One  of  the  horses  attached  himself  to  this 
blind  horse,  and  whenever  the  blind  one  strayed  from 
his  companions,  this  good-tempered  creature  fallowed 
him,  and  by  laying  his  head  on  his  neck,  and  other 
signs  which  they  perfectly  understood,  would  lead 
him  back  to  his  comppmons.     And  fvbat  is  still  more 
remarkable,  this  horse  was  so  gentle  and  peaceable 
that  he  incurred  the  character  of  being  a  coward 
when  only  himself  was  concerned ;  but  if  any  of  them 
made  an  attack  upon  his  blind  friend  he  would  fly 
with  such  fury  that  not  a  horse  in  the  field  could 
stand  before  him.   I  thought  the  conduct  of  this  horse 
might  put  man  to  the  blush. 

One  of  the  horses  belonging  to  the  Oxford  dra- 
goons having  got  loose  in  the  stable,  marched  up  a 
crooked  staircase  into  the  hay-loft.  When  his  rider 
came  into  the  stable  he  was  thunder-struck  on  mis- 
sing his  hoi-se,  and  flew  like  a  r-adman  to  inform  an 


GBANT  THOKBURN. 


93 


officer  of  his  loss  ;  but  he  had  scarcely  got  twenty 
yards  when  the  animal  put  his  head  Arougrthe 
Tth?  n     and  neighed  aloud.    The  as.onista  „! 

scnption  Every  stratagem  that  could  be  devised 
was  made  use  of  to  lead  or  force  him  down,  butln 
vam;  he  saw  the  danger  and  was  obstinate.  He  kept 
trott  ng  and  snorting  round  the  large  hay-loft  for 
nearly  two  hours,  until  at  last  he  stepped  upon  a 
trap-door,  made  of  thin  boards,  which  lit  him  do-™ 
upon  the  floor,  about  eight  feet,  without  the  slight- 
est  injury.  ° 

A  few  ye  ,3  since,  the  servant  of  Mr.  Walker  led 
his  ho«es  to  the  comer  of  New  and  Broad-streets 
o  drink  and  was  always  followed  by  a  fine  Scotch 
terrier  dog,  which  had  fondly  attacLd  himself  to 
one  of  the  horses,  and  always  slept  under  the  manger 
by  the  fore-feet  of  his  favorite.     On  going  to  drink 

mastiff;  (the  prototype  of  Bonaparte,  the  great  bull- 
dog  of  murderers,)  and  was  in  a  fair  way  of  beinl 
torn  in  pieces.    The  favorite  horse  seeing  the  unequal 

with  his  hind  feet  gave  the  tyrant  a  blow  so  well 
du^cted  and  powerful  as  to  send  him,  i.ead  over 
heels,  across  'he  street  and  down  the  steps  of  a 
cellar  Having  performed  this  act  of  justice,  he  re- 
turned to  the  well,  finished  his  drinking,  ai^d  then 
«  his  canine  friend  to  his  soft  bed'iinder  Z 


94. 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  makes  mention  of  a  horse 
which  liv6d  in  his  time,  belonging  to  a  Mr.  Banks, 
of  whom  it  is  related  that  he  would  restore  a  glove 
to  its  owner  after  his  master  had  whispered  the  man's 
name  in  his  ear.  When  shown  a  piece  of  money, 
and  asked  how  many  pence  it  contained—suppose  it 
to  be  a  shilling—he  would  strike  the  ground  twelve 
times  with  his  foot.  This  renowned  horse  is  alluded 
to  by  Shakspeare,  in  "  Love's  Labor's  Lost,"  Act  1, 
Scene  3. 

'       The  following  sublime  description  of  the  hoi-se  is 
from  the  book  of  Job,  chapter^,  v.  19.    God,  speak- 
mg  to   Job,    says:    "Hast  thou   given   the   horse 
strength  1   Hast  thou  clothe^  his  neck  with  thunder  1 
canst  thou  majce  him  afraid  as  a  grasshopper]    The 
glory  of  his  nostrils  is  terrible ;  he  paweth  the  valley, 
and  rejoiceth  in  his  strength ;  he  goeth  on  to  meet 
the  armed  men,  he  mocketh  at  fear,  and  is  not  af- 
frighted ;  neither  turneth  he  back  from  the  sword. 
The  quiver  resteth  against  him,  the  glittering  spear 
and  the  shield.     He  swalloweth  the  ground  with 
fierceness  and  rage ;  neither  believeth  he  that  it  is 
the  sound  of  the   trumpet;   he   saith   among  the 
trumpets,  ha,  ha ;  and  he  smelleth  the  battle  afar  off, 
the  thunder  of  the  captains,  and  the  shouting." 

This  eloquent  description  of  the  horse  was  written 
about  5,000  years  ago  j  yet  no  language  could  better 
portray  his  nature,  though  it  were  written  on  the 
day  after  the  battle  of  Waterioo,  where  the  British 
horse  contributed    so  much  to    gain    that   splen 


*  'i 


f 


GRANT  THORBUHN. 


95 


did  victory  over  Bonaparte  and  his  Invincibles. 
1  might  fill  a  volume  with  such  anecdotes;  but  ^ 
1  intend  to  continue  the  subject,  I  will  conclude  with 
a  few  hints  on  their  treatment,  which  I  have  learned 
irom  experience. 

When  a  horse  shays,  don^t  beat  him— that  only 
makes  him  worse  next  time ;  check  him  to  a  walk 
and  give  him  time  to  see  the  object,  and  he  will  take 
little  or  no  notice  of  it. 

Ifa  horse  stumbles,  don't  strike  him  for  it~that 
will  add  the  fault  of  springing  forward;  for  the  next 
trae  he  stumbles  he  will  expect  the  lash  to  follow 
ind  will  naturally  spring  forward  to  be  out  of  its 
way.  The  remedy  is  in  keeping  a  good  look-out; 
and  when  you  come  to  a  rough  or  stony  part  of  the 
road,  tighten  the  reins  and  enliven  the  horse  by 
talking  to  him;  but  never  strike  him  after  an  acci- 
lent. 

As  you  would  save  the  strength  and  wind  of  your 
horse,  dnve  slow  up  a  hill;  and  as  you  would  save 
your  own  and  your  horse's  limbs,  drive  slow  down 
a  h.Il.  Do  not  feed  with  grain,  especially  con,, 
when  your  horse  is  warin  or  much  fatigued;  if  you 
do  you  may  founder  and  ruin  him. 

Never  wash  your  horse  with  cold  water  when  he' 
.8  hot,  or  let  him  drink  freely;  but  if  the  water  is 
quite  warm  it  will  not  hurt  him. 


I,::: 


d6 

BfiMINISCENCES   OF 

* 

The  Oeae,ee  Girl  and  her  HtUe  Red  Book. 

A  STOBy,  NOT  FOUNDED  ON,  BUT  ALL  PACT. 

"  Good  8he  was,  and  fair  in  youth, 
"  And  her  mind  was  seen  to  soar, 
"And  her  heart  was  wed  to  truth." 

One  tremendously  cold  morning  i„  ,he  month  of 
February,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty, 
three  or  so_a  month  or  a  year,  more  or  less,  makes 

Irl?    T'  '"/'"  '"""y  "  "^"^i"'  «"<!  the  inter- 

^J.  Wheels,  Besides  a  ver/:^:  faV  ^  ^S 

tho^l  th  '  «    '••   ^'^  ^  ■""*  ■S'"-^""'.  that  I 

thought  tbs  same  fine  close  carriage  would  carry  me 

all  the  way  through  thick  and  through  thin,  whfth"r 

was  bound,  even  to  the  State  Hous^e  in  A^n^h 

IXu       T  ™^  ''''  ^^'«  "?-«'■'  -e  stopped 

Pos"  otrt'  !!  "  ''''*^"''  ^™'=«^y'  grog-shop'and 
post-office,  all  under  one  concern;  (by-the-bye  those 
maU-bags  are  a  great  grievance,  stopping  eve  y  few 
miles  on  the  road  in  a  cold  night.)    Here  we  were 

i:  ^  :^ra:^K:;4°''--C^ 

^^r.^A  "^"  neither  carriage  co- 

vered nor  uncovered,  i„  which  to  forward  so  many 

n  T?'    "*  '^'^  *^  •^""'''^  <^^«*  i"  New-York 
hort  •       ,T7-  ^""^  ^^^«  •"-  «»  'he  trouble.   "  fo 
short,    sa,d  he,  "  except  you  remain  here  till  4  p  m 


J 


N 


GBAJ«T    THORBURW. 


97 


Z^^^HelT  "'•''  ^"•='"  •=''"-y'"-  -  I  can  fur- 

our  Hoboken  driver  h.  ITu-       7  "PP"'^''  '" 

3  enough,  .e  tur.e;£     fnrSr  S' 
Looking  at  our  commodiou,  carriages  on  therre 
turn,   a  passenger  remarked,   "  These  ar!  k2 
4.C0M,,.-  I  thought,  in  ^ur  case    th":  hafdr 
coyed  geese,  for  no  person  wi.h  brai;,  ought  to  ex 
pect  any  good  thing  to  come  out  of  Jersey    H.« 
were  detained  nearlv  =,.  i,  x  ^"®y-  ""fo  we 

bar-room-aWel^/         r-  ^  ''"PP"*^  '"'"  ">« 
fashioned  ten  pKo  '  '"  ""^  "^^"""^  '"""»  ^"  "W" 

-enty  .arge".  t  Xr;;"^^^^  ^  T  '' 
(which  was  ve,y  hot)  stood  a  nuX;  of  nn^  T 
ers,  mugs  and  jars  of  beer,  '  ™dy  a,e  ^nd '  ^T 
some,  running  over  with  he  ZIt  made  »  b  '' 
no.se,  and  the  fumes  which  rose  To  Thf  r"""! 
intermixed  with  cIond»  r.F    ■  ,  ''^''"'S^  ^''d 

bounded  aedn  on  1    t   "J^^  """^  «egar-smoke.  re- 

shotting  Z7e  l^ht  :;r  1? V""'^"'  "^"'^ 
the  midnight  revels  „f  M    u  l.    ^""^"^  to  mind 

around  thfinfrrn%:7:„at^   ""^'^  ''"""« 
edgeofthecaMldr„„   ?'  ?  *°  landing  on  the 

iatit:olr;;Sf;r^^^^^ 

oil  and  canvass  of  Ho^a^h-    I  t   ''',\P'"^«"'  P«- 
those  fe«ows  into  iStSame    """  """''  '"""^'^ 


■p 


PHHi 


98 


REMINISCENCES    OF 


■> 


: 


We  were  now  sent  forward  in  the  following  order, 
viz.  two  in  an  open  chair,  or  Hulkey,  four  in  a  light 
wagon,  and  eight  in  a  common  Jersey  farming  wagon, 
all  the  machines  being  without  covers.  It  now  com- 
menced raining;  and,  by  the  time  we  got  to  the  next 
stage  we  looked  like  moving  pillars  of  salt,  our  hats, 
cloaks  and  coats  being  covered  to  the  thickness  of 
one-eighth  of  an  inch  with  ice  transparent.    At  the 

town  of we  changed  the  mail,  dried  our  clothes, 

and  got  something  to  warm  us.  As  we  went  north 
the  sleighing  got  better,  and  we  were  placed  in  a 
covered  box  with  runners;  but,  alas!  it  was  like  the 
man's  lantern  without  a  candle — the  cover  was  of 
white-wood  boards,  placed  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
apart,  without  painty  leather,  or  canvass  ot  protect  it 
from  the  weather !  You  will  here  observe,  that  se- 
venty-five cents*  worth  of  canvass,  twenty-five  cents' 
worth  of  paint,  and  half  an  hour  of  time,  would  have 
made  this  machine  both  air  and  water-tight ;  but  in 
Jersey,  time,  cents,  and  every  comfort,  seemed  all 
swallowed  up  with  the  rum-jugs  and  the  ten-plate 
stoves.  We  travelled  all  night,  the  rain  and  snow 
descending  through  the  roof;  our  hats  were  frozen  to 
our  capes,  and  our  cloaks  to  one  another.  When  we 
stopped  at  the  village  of for  breakfast,  we  look- 
ed like  mountains  of  ice  moving  down  the  gulf- 
stream.  I  thought  the  machine  used  at  the  Dry  Dock 
would  have  been  an  excellent  appendage  here,  to 
have  lifted  us  bodily  into  the  breakfast-room,  and 
this  is  what  the  horse-flesh  fraternity  in  New- York 


't 


I 


GRANT   TITORBURlf. 


99 


ing  ortler, 
in  a  light 
ig  wagon, 
now  com- 
0  the  next 
,  our  hats, 
ickness  of 
t.    At  the 
ir  clothes, 
ent  north 
laced  in  a 
,8  like  the 
3r  was  of 
an   inch 
protect  it 
,  that  se- 
ive  cents* 
)uld  have 
It ;  but  in 
3emed  all 
ten-plate 
ind  snow 
frozen  to 
iiVhen  we 
we  look- 
the  gulf- 
)ry  Dock 
here,  to 
)om,  and 
ew-York 


% 


$^^' 


t 


advertised  as  their  xafe^  cheapo  comfortable  and  ex- 
peditious winter  establishment  for  Albany !  On  the 
road  I  saw  delicate  women  hewing  wood  and  draw- 
ing water ;  children  in  the  snow,  without  shoes  or 
stockings ;  while  the  lazy,  drunken  husband  and  fa- 
ther was  spending  his  time  and  money  by  the  ten- 
plate  stove.  I  thought  the  very  brute  creation  of  Jer- 
sey wore  gi'oaning  in  pain  under  the  wickedness  of 
the  men ;  horses  and  cows  stood  trembling  by  the 
board-fence,  their  bones  sticking  through  their  hide- 
bound skins,  without  the  slightest  covering  to  pro- 
tect them  from  the  piercing  winds.  Cedar  poles  and 
brush  were  there  in  abundance ;  but  the  men  were 
chained  to  the  ten-plate  stoves  when  they  ought  to 
have  been  raising  a  place  of  shelter  for  their  dumb 
beasts.  t^-. 

Among  our  passengers  was  a  young  woman,  who, 
from  her  appearance,  I  thought  must  be  about  seven- 
teen. Having  finished  her  education  in  New- York, 
she  was  returning  to  her  friends  in  the  West,  and 
vfB"  under  the  protection  of  a  young  man,  who,  from 
hii  polite,  yet  cool  attentions,  I  thought  must  be'nearer 
related  to  her  than  cousin.  Had  she  been  a  witness  at 
the  Hall,  the  papers  would  have  said  that  she  was 
a  very  interesting  young  lady;  but,  as  I  do  not  quite 
understand  the  phrase  in  this  connection,  it  is  as  well 
to  say  at  once,  that  she  was  a  handsome  young  wo- 
man. Most  of  this  day's  journey  there  sat  on  her 
right  hand  a  respectable  farmer  from  Ohio— a  man 
of  sound  principles,  and  who,  by  his  observations, 


100 


REMINISCENCES    OP 


. 


vigor  oflire  JZllZl^tulZlir'  V"  '"t 
eye,  (observe,  this  wal  not  her  !  I  tor  To  T^ 
n>er,  in  answer  to  a  question  hv  .  '      ""^  '^''■ 

speaking  of  the  inhabitant  offi.e  ^""'7'  "''^" 
observed  that  wherever  tLrl        "^"^ '^'''e-nents, 

stated  n,i„ister,  the  peol  f  "°^  "  "'""■'=''  """^  "^ 
around,  were  mor„      r?'^'/'"'  "^e  or  six  miles 

than  w;reThorwrot  ^reZT "'"'  f - 

This  remark  drew  forth  the  to'   uTL  "  ^""^'^': 

the  eloquence  of  our  young  heT of  thfTl""' 
He  had  been  to  ,.,.11^     ""g  nero  ot  the  whiskers. 

New.York    he  snokiT'  ""^T'  """^^'-^  '^^  '- 

and  witchtaftVsS  the  ifwTo  1    '"°"  ^"^"<=^'"* 
ter  Aan  the  laws  of  Mose    Ind  fl    ^R^Kr'.r^*'  *'"'■ 

was  better  than  thelT'oSr/pl^Lf  ^^^71 
the  stories  about  hell  and  fh„    ,   P°"'^*-   "«  said 

vented  to  scare  the  iLrat  a„dTh  .T'7"'^  ""■ 
worst,  was  only  a  lea"aZ'  S  ah't '",  "" 
m  the  dark'  we  1,>m1  m,       T     '        '  ^'^'  '^"^  ^®ap 

precipice,  and  Iha  in  a  fe  ""  "'"  '°  "^^  *^ 
would  be  put  to  he  test  It  ha^^'^'iT  """"'•"^^ 
twelve  hou'rs;  the  Sing  g  uT^td  t'i  '^  '"' 
swore  he  would  take  ?o  tfe  ri  et  \^:',J;J"r 
was  in  lest*  hut    ««  r       i  •  thought  he 

the  pas  enJer"  ;„e  '"?  7  '"^  "'  *"'  •^'-«-". 
effect.    At  Ive'rv  1!  '  r™°"«'-"«d,  but  to  no 

drank  waterhTarX^ '^^^'  """^  "^^  "-- 
point  of  high  pressure  thT he  decTa"  dTe  f  '''I 
neither  death  nor  the  devil.  '^"^'^ 


GRANT  THORBUHN. 


lannei-s.  On 
two,  in  tlie 

mouth  and 
••)  Our  far- 
tiger,  when 
ettlements, 
irch  and  a 

six  miles 
and  sober, 

privilege, 
irning  and 

whiskers, 
"g  law  in 
priestcraft 
were  bet- 
Mahomet 

He  said 

9  only  in- 
th,  at  the 
this  leap 
near  the 
courage 
the  last 

10  -driver 
5ught  he 
irection, 
ut  to  no 

horses 
at  that 
feared 


101 


This  scene  took  place   between  Newburgh  and 
Catskill.    We  knew  the  ice  was  strong  enough  to 
bear  a  hundred  sleighs,   but  the  rain  was  running 
from  the  frozen  hills  on  cnch  side  of  the  river,  and 
the  ice  was  now  covered  to  the  depth  of  at  least  two 
feet  with  water;  thr  wind  was  fresh,  and  the  waves 
rolled  as  if  no  ice  was  under.    Our  a])prehensions 
arose  from  the  danger  of  getting  into  air-holes,  which 
I      could  not  be  seen,  as  all  apj)eared  but  one  sheet  of 
water.    At  this  juncture  snow  began  to  fall  in  broad 
flakes,  so  thick  and  so  fast  that  the   driver  could 
g     scarcely  see  the  heads  of  his  leaders ;  and,  to  add  to 
our  fears,  the  banks  were  so  steep  that  we  could  not 
effect  a  landing  for  nearly  a  mile  ahead.   I  looked  at 
our  farmer;  I  thought  he  must,  in  his  travels,  have 
encountered  many  dangers  by  field  and  by  flood  ;  his 
eye  was  uneasy,  startled,  and  twinkling  with  some- 
thmg  like  fear.    1  asked  him  what  he  thought ;  ho 
thought  it  was  very  unsafe,  and  very  imprudent.  I 
looked  at  the  young  woman ;  she  was  pale,  thought- 
ful and  serious,  but  spoke  not.    On  her  lap  she  ear- 
ned a  small  willow  basket,  the  lids  opening  to  the 
handle.   While  I  was  watching  the  effects  of  fear  on 
her  countenance,  she  took  from  her  baskt    a /e«/e 
redhooh,  about  two  and  a  half  inches  long,  two  broad 
and  one  thick;  she  opened  the  book,  turned  a  few 
leaves,  fixed  her  eyes,  and  read  about  a  minute.  As 
she  shut  and  replaced  the  book  in  the  basket,  she 
turned  her  face  toward  the  heavens ;  she  closed  her 
eyes,  and  her  lips  moved.    Nnw  reader  -^ 


102 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


Stood  at  Werckmeister's  window,  corner  of  Broad- 
way and  Liberty-street,  you  may  have  seen  a  paint- 
ingof  a  beautiful  Italian  nun  at  her  devotions.   Well 
if  you  have  seen  this,  you  may  figure  to  yourself  the 
countenance  of  this  young  woman  in  that  tryin-  mo- 
ment. As  she  opened  her  fine  black  eyes,  the  hue  of 
fear,  which   for  a   moment  had  blanched  her  rosy 
cheeks,  passed  away  like  the  shadow  of  a  showery 
cloud  on  the  side  of  a  green  hill,  on  an  April  morn- 
ing    I  knew  not  the  book,  nor  what  words  she  had 
read;  but  I  was  sure  it  must  have  been  something 
that  she  took  for  inspiration,  and  that  was  enough 
for  the  present  case.    I  thought  how  cruel  would  it 
have  been  in  one  of  those  hoary-headed  philanthro- 
pists  of  the  temple  of  reason  to  undeceive  this  youne 
woman  at  this  critical  moment,  could  such  a  tU^. 
have  been  possible.  During  the  remainder  of  our  perit 
ous  ride  she  sat  composed,  but  spoke  not.    I  looked 
at  the  whiskered  young  man  :  he  trembled  in  every 
limb;  ten  minutes  before  he  looked  stout  enough 
and  fierce  enough  to  have  made  the  passage  of  Lodi 
on  the  right  hand  of  Bonaparte;  but  now  he  sat  in 
dismay.  This  leap  in  the  dark  took  him  by  surprise  • 
he  was  like  one  without  hope,  while  she  placed  her 
tender  foot  firmly  on  the  Rock  of  Ages;  with  her 
band  she  took  a  grasp  upon  the  skies,  then  bid  the 
waves  roll,  nor  feared  their  idle  whirl.    At  this  mo- 
ment I  saw  before  me  what  I  thought  was  Hope, 
and  No  Hope,  personified-Hope,  in  the  person  of 

this  voung  female  wjir*  ^r..,^^ ^ i 

^  J  ,,i.^  vwu-ivt  MUi,  et>  Jiiucfl  as  set  her 


GRANT   THORBURN. 


103 


foot  upon  the  ground  for  very  delicacy,  yet  she  nei- 
ther screamed  nor  wrung  her  hands :  she  neither 
called  for  smelling-bottle  nor  hartshorn,  but  sat  strong 
in  the  faitli  of  her  little  red  hook  ;  and  No  Hope,  in 
the  person  of  this  young  man,  wlio,  from  strength  of 
body  and  vigor  of  mind  might  have  passed  for  one 
of  the  very  lords  of  the  creation  ;  but  now  he  sat  un- 
strung and  feeble  as  a  child.    They  had  taken  from 
him  his  red  book,  and  given  him  a  hlank  book  in  its 
place .     e  had  no  hope.   At  this  juncture  a  passenger 
crept  out  of  the  sleigh  and  sat  by  the  driver.    What 
unanswerable  argument  he  made  use  of  I  know  not, 
but  I  suspect  it  was  in  the  shape  of  a  safettj-fund 
note,  for  in  five  minutes  the  driver  and  his  horses 
returned  to  the  earth  from  whence  they  had  late- 
ly sprung. 

We  stopped  at  the  village  of  Catskill  to  dine. 
While  they  were  placing  the  victuals  on  the  table  I 
asked  Miss  Campbell  if  she  would  be  so  good  as  to 
let  me  look  at  the  little  red  book  she  carried  in  the 
basket;  its  title  was,  ''Daily  Food  for  Christians^ 
being  a  portion  of  Scripture,  and  a  hymn  for  every 
day  in  the  year.  I  asked  what  portion  seemed  to 
please  her  so  much  while  we  were  sleighing  in  the 
water?  She  said  it  was  the  text  for  the  day-— the 
words,  ''  As  the  mountains  are  round  about  Jerusa- 
lem, so  the  Lord  is  round  about  his  people,"  &c 

the  hymn,  "  Ye  fearful  saints,  fresh  courage  take," 
&c.  As  I  returned  the  book,  said  I,  ''  Miss,  there  be 
many  who  say  this  book  is  all  delusion." 


104 


REMINISCENCES    OP 


And  what  if  it  is  1    It  is,  at  least,  a  cheap,  a  com- 

Jftable,  and  a  very   innocent  delusion !"  says  she. 

Ihey  may  call  it  what  they  please,  but  I  intend  to 

make  ,t  my  companion  through  all  my  journeys  in 

We  arrived  at  Albany  the  next  day.  Miss  Camp- 
bell, her  protector  and  I,  stopped  that  night  at  the 
same  hotel.  I  then  learned  that  she  was  the  adopted 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  William  Campbell,  Surveyor- 
General  to  the  State,  a  man  of  great  wealth.  She 
was  married  in  April,  1835,  to  Dr.  Grant,  of  Utica, 
JN.  Y.j  a  few  weeks  thereafter  they  sailed  from  Bos- 
ton  tor  Constantinople,  as  missionaries  to  the  Nesto- 
nans  m  Persia ;  and  there  she  died,  I  think,  about 
two  years  ago. 


Tellow  Fever,  from  1735  to  isaa. 

„,  "I have  seen 

In  my  n.ghf-  course  through  the  beleaguerd  city 
Things  whoge  remembrance  doth  not  pass  away 
As  vapors  from  the  mountains." 

26th  July.--The  alarm  of  fever  was  heard  through 
the  city  like  the  rumbling  of  distant  thunder 

14th  August.-At  5  o'clock  this  morning 'it  com- 
menced rammg,  not  in  large  drops,  like  a  thunder 
shower;  but,  as  it  were  in  floating  sheets  of  trans- 
parent water.  At  7  I  stood  in  the  shop  of  a  black- 
smith; the  rain  poured  down  the  chimney  in  .n.-v. 


'■'■i-     SSiA\,il 


GRANT  THOHBURN. 


105 


^ap,  a  com- 
'  says  she. 
I  intend  to 
ourneys  in 

■IBB  Camp- 
i'ght  at  the 
le  adopted 
Surveyor- 
alth.  She 
,  of  Utica, 
from  Bos- 
the  Nesto- 
ink,  about 


I  through 
r. 

!"  it  com- 

L  thunder 

of  trans- 

'  a  black- 

A£2        SUVXi 


quantities  m  completely  extinguished  his  fire  in  the 
short  period  that  the  bellows  stood  still  while  he  was 
forging  a  hone-nail.  He  was  obliged  to  quit  work. 
In  Maiden-lane,  from  Gold  to  Pearl-streets,  the  water 

sTrl  r  t'v''"--  ^"  ''^  ■=«"""  ^~«  Wiiur 

About    0  T  "'".  ""™   '"'«''   ^'^  ««er. 

About  10  the  rain  ceased,  but  the  sun  showed  not 

15tb— Fourteen  cases  were  this  day  reported  to 
have  died  of  the  fever.  ^  reported  to 

25th.-This  day  the  report  of  fever  was  from  everv 

rrd-ii^H^r^^-^'^'^-^-ewitrs 
.r^L-a-ts:'wtit\t7eSi-^^^ 

moving  families,  furniture  and  goods ; 'the  oMm» 
of  eighty  with  the  stripling  of  one  y;ar,  the  iZ 
1  he  halt  and  the  blind,  all  crowding'^the  boats    the 

!  Jr  S  tTe"  d  "f  °'"  '"^  "'''  ■•  fe-Vickened  Ihli 
pace,  and  the  destroying  angel  at  their  heels.    Hun- 

but  not  one  instance  occurred  of  any  inhabitant  of 
Albany,  Bergen  or  Brooklyn  ever  being  seized  by 
his,  as  It  was  called,  infectious  disease.    About  this 
ume  many  instances  like  the  following  came  „„d 
my  notice:  a  respectable  shoemaker,  living  at  the 
corner  of  Pme  and  Front-streets,  removed  l,th  ht 

wife  and  younger  children     h;. ,      .  " 

***=  c^iif  uuoui;  twenty- 


106 


REMINIgCENCES   OF 


ne,  a  confidential  townsman  and  an  old  colored  wo- 
man requested  permission  to  stay,  as  they  said  they 
were  not  afraid  of  the  fever.   In  a  few  days  all  three 
were  taken  sick.    The  journeyman  was  my  towns- 
man—I was  intimate  in  the  families.    I  procured  a 
doctor  and  nurse,  and  gave  what  attention  I  could. 
On  the  5th  day  the  son  died  j  early  next  morning  I 
found  the  house  locked  up  and  the  key  gone ;  I  made 
an  entry  through  a  lower  window ;  the  nurse  had 
fled,  and  took  some  of  the  small  moveables  by  way 
of  compensation.    The  black  woman  had  rolled  from 
her  bed  in  the  agonies  of  death,  and  was  lying  on 
the  floor ;  being  unable  to  lift  her,  I  put  a  pillow 
under  her  head,  covered  her  body  with  a  sheet,  and 
entered  the  next  room  where  my  friend  lay,  his  eyes 
closmg  fast  in  the  sleep  of  death :  in  two  hours  the 
woman  died;  I  procured  a  hearse,  and  watched  by 
my  friend  till  8  p.  m.,  when  he  also  died.   At  the  same 
time  a  young  man  of  my  acquaintance  lay  at  No.  — 
Liberty  street,  in  the  same  situation ;  I  nursed  him— 
he  recovered.    Comer  of  Dover  and  Water-streets 
lay  three  brothers ;  I  procured  a  doctor,  a  nurse  I 
could  not  find.    When  the  doctor  entered  and  saw 
one  laid  on  a  mattress  on  the  floor,  one  on  a  cot  in 
the  same  room,  and  one  on  a  bed  in  another  room, 
he  seemed  struck  with  fear;  he  asked  if  there  was 
any  fire  m  the  house  ?  I  procured  some,  he  lit  a  se- 
gar  and  smoked  most  profusely-he  proposed  bleed- 
jng  J   I  took   the  basin,  but  for  some  minutes  his 
hand  trembled  so  that  he  could  not  strike  the  vein. 


GRANT   THOaBURN. 


107 


When  finished  I  went  with  him  to  the  door ;  said  h^. 
You  run  a  great  risk, — said  I,  There  is  no  retreating. 
This  was  Monday  the  17th  September, — he  called 
next  day,  Wednesday  and  Thursday  he  did  not 
appear.  I  called  at  his  house  on  Friday,  about  10 
o'clock,  A.  M.  and  was  informed  that  his  corpse  was 
now  on  the  road  to  Potter's-field.  Next  morning,  the 
22d  September,  the  elder  brother  died,  aged  22; 
the  younger  ones  recovered.    The  Doctor's  name 

was  B s,  and  kept  his  office  in  Cherry-street. — 

Returning  at  11  o'clock  p.m.  from  visiting  my  pa- 
tients, the  night  was  dark,  a  thick  wetting  mist  was 
falling,  the  lamps  twinkled  just  enough  to  show 
darkness  visible.  Descending  the  hill  from  the  cor- 
ner of  Dover-street  in  Pearl,  I  met  two  hearses  with 
the  dead,  one  was  issuing  out  of  Peck-slip  the  other 
coming  out  from  Ferry-street.  They  turned  up 
Pearl  towards  Chatham-street,  on  their  way  to  Pot- 
ter's-field. Each  hearse  had  a  driver  and  an  assist- 
ant, with  a  lantern  between  their  feet  sitting  in 
front.  Being  heavily  laden  they  drove  slowly  up  the 
hill,  the  wheels  and  springs  creaked  and  groaned 
under  the  weight  of  dead  mortality.  The  drivers 
sat  dumb  as  mutes,  the  pale  light  of  their  lanterns 
flickered  across  their  stupjd,  unmeaning  countenan- 
ces; which  looked  as  white  as  did  the  face  of 
Samuel  just  peering  out  of  the  grave,  when  called 
by  the  witch  of  Endor  from  the  mansions  of  the 
dead.    I  thought  vrhoz  a  fin6  subject  this  for  such  a 

on  the  Pah  Horse. 


>..ifir*'!f!-«-ww 


108 


B£MIN18C£NCES   OF 


Mr 


I 


I 


•  Sabbath,  15th  September. — All  the  churches  down 
town,  knovirn  by  the  name  of  Orthodox  and  Reformed, 
being  shut  up,  the  poor  who  could  not  fly  were  very 
glad  to  pick  what  little  crumbs  of  Gospel  comfort 
they  could  find  in  the  good  old  church  of  the  Tri- 
nity, which  was  open  every  Sabbath.    As  the  bell 

^  was  tolling  for  afternoon  service,  Mr.  T and  his 

(wife,  and  myself  and  wife,  (we  had  all  been  married 
j within  the  year,)  were  walking  among  the  tombs; 

\as  we  turned  the  east  corner  Mrs.  T ,  who  was 

^  lively  girl,  turned  her  husband  round  and  exclaim- 

^ed,  (in  a  sort  of  playful  manner,)  "  T ,  if  I  die 

|of  the  fever  you  must  bury  me  there,"  (pointing  to 
'the  spot.)  Next  day  she  was  reported,  and  on  Fri- 
day, the  21st,  he  buried  her  there !  and  where  you 
may  see  her  grave-stone  until  this  day.  I  was  told 
the  other  day,  that  it  is  in  contemplation  to  run 
Pine-street  through  the  church-yard  to  Greenwich- 
street  ;  if  so,  the  grave,  the  story  and  the  stone  will 
be  lost  in  eternal  oblivion,  except  some  good-ma- 
tured printer  gives  it  a  place.  Very  many  fell  a  sa- 
crifice to  the  fever  for  want  of  proper  attendance 
about  this  time,  especially  among  those  who  were 
left  in  charge  of  their  masters*  houses.  Relations  and 
sometimes  acquaintances  >vould  attend  one  another, 
but  many  died  unknown  and  unlamented.    At  the 

corner  of street  and  Broadway,  a  respectable 

family  removed,-  leaving  a  man-servant  in  charge  of 
the  house ;  after  some  days  it  was  noticed  he  did  not 
appear  in  the  street  as  usual :  it  wm  siinnna«/i  fiio«- 


GRANT  TDORBUHN. 


109 


2hes  down 
Reformed^ 
were  very 
)1  comfort 
f  the  Tri- 
3  the  bell 
—  and  his 
n  married 
le  tombs ; 
,  who  was 
i  exclaim- 
-,  if  I  die 
ointing  to 
id  cm  Fri- 
^here  you 
[  was  told 
3n  to  run 
reenwich- 
stone  will 
good-jia- 
j  fell  a  sa- 
ittendance 
who  were 
ations  and 
B  another, 
I.  At  the 
3spectable 
charge  of 
he  did  not 


he  had  shut  up  the  house  and  fled  ;  in  a  day  or  two 
afteni  a  person  who  had  charge  of  a  house  whose  win- 
dows looked  into  the  yard  of  said  house,  observed 
the  man  sitting  in  a  sort  of  arbor  or  summer-house ; 
he  supposed  the  man  had  returned,  took  no  more 
notice  till  next  day,  when  seeing  him  still  sitting  for 
hours  in  the  same  position,  he  gave  the  alarm,  the 
door  was  forced,  and  the  man  found  dead,  partly  un- 
dressed.   In  this  and  subsequent  fevers,  cats,  and  in 
some  cases  dogs,  were  thoughtlessly  left  shut  up  to 
die  a  cruel  death ;  the  streets  also  were  swarming 
with  famishing  animala,   whose   piteous   bowlings 
added  much  to  the  distress  of  the  few  inhabitants 
who  were  unable  to  leave  the  city.    In  these  times 
that  tried  the  souls  as  well  as  the  bodies  of  men,  I 
saw  parents  fly  from  their  sick  children,  and  children 
from  their  parents,  husbands  from  their  wives,  but 
never,  except  in  one  solitary  instance,  did  I  see  a 
woman  desert  her  husband  in  distress.    She,  tobe 
8ure,  was  married  to  a  great  lump  of  a  fellow  old 
enough  to  be  her  father,  rather  a  sloven,  and  appa- 
rently a  proper  subject  for  the  yellow  fever.  As  soon 
as  he  was  fairly  reported,  she  snatched  up  her  young- 
est  child,  got  on  board  a  potato  sloop  at  Peck-slip 
and  never  stopped  till  she  got  out  at  Stonington  light- 
house,  or  somewhere  down  east ;  for  in  a  few  days 
thereafter  I  received  a  letter  from  her,  wishing  to  be 
mformed  if  her  husband  was  dead.    From  the  tenor 
of  her  letter    I  expect  she    was  wofully   disap- 
pointed when   fihft  rAooitro/1  «»,. y/.      , 

i  t.._    —   _^^^,.,„^  ,^^_    jjygyy^j.^  fior    he 


10 


110 


REMINISCENCES  OP 


I  ' '. . 


lived  to  lay  her  head  very  quietly  in  the  grave  about 
three  years  after.)  She  was  a  real  Yankee,  but  I  did 
not  think  she  was  a  daughter  of  the  Puritans.  I 
rather  supposed  she  must  have  sprung  from  them 
lang'Med,  corn-fed  wenches  and  whale-killing 
sailors  who  peopled  all  that  country  round  Cape 
Cod,— [a  full  account  of  which  you  will  find  in  Knick- 
erbocker's History  of  that  period.] 


June  18th,  1832,  the  signs  of  the  times  induced  me 
to  search  up  my  manuscripts.    A  morning  paper  ex- 
horts his  readers  to  arm  themselves  against  fear, — 
fear  in  many  is  constitutional,  they  cannot  help  it. 
But  I  think  if  the  printers  and  doctors  continue  their 
alarms  and  nostrums  one  week  longer,  we  will  have 
amongst  us  the  worst  of  all  diseases,  viz.  the  reign  of 
terror.  It  is  just  now  as  it  was  in  August,  1798,— one 
came  out  recommending  beef  and  brr-^.d,  another  bread 
and  milk  for  diet,  some  were  floodea  with  the  vinegar 
Oi  four  thieves,  while  multitudes  were  stuffed,  with 
anti-bilious,  anti -yellow-fever  pills ;  many  I  thought, 
very  many,  tortured  their  frames  with  medicine,  pre- 
ventives, preparatives  and  terror,  till  they  were  so 
reduced  as  to  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  first  attack. 
Fear  is  infectious,  and  those  who  are  already  afflicted 
with  this  worst  of  epidemics,  will  do  well  for  them- 
selves and  neighbors  to  leave  the  city  immediately ; 
and  if  the  disease  does  appear  among  us,  I  would 
advise  (from  former  experience)  all  who  have  the 
means,  to  leave  the  city  at  once.   With  regard  to  eat- 


GRANT  THORBUHN. 


Ill 


ing,  dnnk.ng  and  exercise,  I  have  found  that  the 
same  moderation  which  kept  my  head  cool  and  feet 
warm,  was  the  cheapest  and  surest  preventive  I 
cannot  see,  for  my  part,  a  cause  sufficient  for  so  gt^eat 

tl^se  whom  >mpenous  duty  may  prevent,  let  them 
only  beheve  m  a  particular  Providence-De^tWs 
shafts  may  fly  thick,  but  their  aim  is  directed  by 
Omnipotence.  When  the  man  drew  the  bow  at  a 
venture,  the  unerring  eye  of  Him  who  alike  views 
the  fall  of  a  sparrow  and  the  crash  of  an  empire, 
directed  the  shaft,  it  entered  between  the  joinu  of 
the  harness,  the  proud  mortal  sunk  down  i„  his  cha- 

death,  the  burstmg  of  a  boiler,  a  slate  from  the  roof 
or  a  crumb  of  the  food  that  we  swallow,  can  do 
death  s  busmess  as  quickly  as  the  Cholera. 

<,„°^^'l"'^^?°"''""'  '"  "'«  "  ""«  ''"o.  the  Vine- 
gar  of  Four  Thieves  ^^  the  most  soverei^;  a  story 
was  t,ed  to  ,ts  tail  which  insured  its  chaS^Jter  Ja 

Marseilles,  in  France! VheT^J:'  t^XZ 

tTrf  'L'/r  ""^1"^'^"  '^'--.  -ho  dafy?„ 
tered,  robbed  the  houses  and  carried  their  plunder 
to  the  mountams.    The  astonished  citizens,  who  had 
h,d  themselves  m  the  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth  for 

-"■   '"  °"'^'^""  ^'^'^'  an^  wondered  most  pro- 


112 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


by  some  of  the  man-traps  of  those  days:  thev  were 
just  go.„g  to  break  him  on  the  whee./when  h'e  ea  d 
mat7,r        "^"Z"''"  '"■"  ^^  "°'''«J  '^-'h  them  to 

they  had  escaped  the  plague  when  robbing  the  city 
H.S  request  was  granted  :  and  io!  ir.  New  York  we 

and  nose  of  most  of  the  men  in  the  city,  though  manv 
of  them  were  above  five  feet  ten  inches  hS  ^Td 
so  powerful  w^  its  effects  on  some  of  the  fende"" 
hat  whereas  formerly  they  were  obliged  to  p^Td 
.he.r  way  through  the  lanes  and  streetf  of  the  cky 

rfa^  a'iT'd  '^  ^T  "°"  ^"'""^'^  *°  «"  -  -  «=- 
creepmg  thmgs  of  the  earth.  Where  they  got  so 
much  of  thts  thievish  vinegar  I  never  could  find  om! 
but  I  strongly  suspect  it  was  made  from  crab  apples 
by  some  of  them  Hackensack  farme«  in  the  Je^e™ 
Be  th.s  as  «  n.ay,  you  could  hardly  meet  a  manTn 
the  street  but  had  a  bottle  at  his  nose,  till  their  nose 

sole  of  a  new-made  boot.    As  for  the  few  women 
who  were  left,  they  contented  themselves  brs^uff" 

as  good  an  effect  m  preventing  the  yellow  fever. 

^iff  u     ,.         "'^'■^  "^^^  *  ''«w°»«  Mediciner  in  the 

c«y,  by  the  name  of  Dr  r  ,„«ii  , 

m,,  fi™»  1     J-         ,  •    *  ^®"  remember  on 

my  first  landmg.  about  four  years  previous,  of  im- 


im.  In  pro- 
38  was  taken 
;  they  were 
hen  he  said 
ach  them  to 
ms  of  which 
ing  the  city. 
»w-York  we 
)  the  mouth 
lough  many 

high;  and 
le  venders, 
3d  to  plod 
of  the  city 
it  in  a  car- 
beasts  and 
hey  got  so 
tl  find  out ; 
Tab  apples 
»e  Jerseys. 

a  man  in 
their  nose- 
)wn  as  the 
w  women 
3  by  stuff- 
had  quite 
fever, 
tier  in  the 
ember  on 
as,  of  im- 


GRANT   THOREITRN. 


113 


bibmg  a  wonderful  antipathy  against  him  and  all 
patent  medicines,  their   makers   and   their  sellers 
throughout   the   world.    The  incident  was  this  •    I 
stepped  from  the  good  ship  Providence,  (in  which 
1  had  crossed  the  Atlantic,)  on  shore  at  Governeur's 
wharf,  about  7  a.  m.,  came  sauntering  up  the  middle 
of  Wall-street-there  were  few  carts  then    to  ob- 
struct  the  way-arriving  at  the  old  Federal  Hall 
where  now  stands  the  Custom  House,  I  observed 
a  placard  about  a  yard  square  and  headed  with  let- 
ters as  large  as  my  hand~^co/c^  Ointment  fm-  the 
Itch.   I  was  confounded  ;  I  rubbed  my  eyes  and  read 
It  agam  :--8aid  I,  It's  an  abominable  lie  ;  for  I  never 
heard  of  such  an  ointment  in  Scotland,  nor  did  I  ever 
see  any  use  for  it  there.    I  stood  and  looked  and 
reasoned  more  calmly   on  the   matter.     Said  I  to 
myself.  Well,  this  man  must  make  a  living  by  selling 
this  stuff  to  somebody ;  but  it  is  impossible  he  could 
In^e  by  rubbing  the  hides  of  what  few  Scotchmen 
aie  here,  for  I  have  not  met  one  to-day  as  I  know  of. 
I  therefore  concluded  that  here  must  be  collected, 
whether  homespun  or  imported,  a  group  of  dirt; 
fellows,   al    scratching  and  itching   for  something^  * 
otherwise    he   could   not    live    amongst    them     So 
when  the  yellow  fever  commenced,  and  he  amongst 

his  nil  ""  1  T  ""^  '"  ^P^^^«^^'  ^-  preventivL, 
his  pdls  and  his  purgatives,  saidi,  he  shall  neve; 
ge  a  cent  of  my  money,  die  or  live.  I  had  not  for- 
got  the  box  of  omtment  I  saw  on  the  wall,  but  per- 
naps  this  premdice  was  fh^  r«^o«o  ^c •_  _  _    A. 


10^ 


%  »"^ 


114 


HEMIIIISCENCM  OF 


yss  Jii 


for  I  v«r.Iy  beheve,  had  I  .walloweU  one  half  of  the 
.tuffi  then  recommended.  I  would  not  have  lived 
half  my  day,.  To  conclude,  this  man  died  and  wa. 
bur.e.  :  one  of  his  countrymen  (they  were  English- 
™en)  co„p      d    „  ^pi,^p^_  ^^  never  pub. 

luhed.)  part  of  it  ran  thus :  ' 

"He  cured  a  million  of  Scotchmen  in  his  day  • 
Death  ilched  for  him  and  scratched  the  , ,,«  away." 

kenr  f  "•  "7  *^  P°"offi<=e  'vas  removed,  and 
kept  dunng  the  fever  i„  the  house  of  Dr.  James 
Tillery,  corner  of  Broadway  and  Wall-street.    The 

furTrl?.  T  """"  '""'"^  ""'  ^°°">  °f  Edin- 
burgh College)  gave  «  as  his  opinion  that  there  was 

comtn? r  '"    !•  Wjehended  by  persons  out  of  town 
comtng  or  sending  for  their  letters  any  time  from 
■me  A.  M.  to  eun-down.    As  almost  every  man  at  this 
t.me  was  h.s  own  letter-carrier,  Broadway  was  pretty 
well  frequented  in  the  above  hours  by  persons  going 
o  or  returning  from  the  Post-office.  On  Sabbath  too^ 
the  Episcopal  m,n..,ters,  who  had  removed  to  Green- 
wich and  Bloomingdale,    came  down   as  the  bell 
tolled  on  horse-back  or  in  a  chair,  tied  the  howe  to 
one  of  the  trees,  said    ;  »■     p^ayera  and  rear!  their 
sermon.,  and  so  went  J,...,,  again- .hus  they  kept 
their  churches  openeu  ail  the  fever  of  1798   Dr  PH 
more,  too.  stood  like  a  son  of  thunder,  and  prea;=hed 

M^ZJ-"^  *  ^V"  '^'  '=■'""=''  ■"  Ann-street.  The 
Methodists  too,  ,„  John-street-these  sober-sided  old 
tellows  who  almost  preach  for  nothing  and -find 
f .  "^selves,  stood,  as  it  were,  between  the  living  and 


OR  ANT  TRORBUKIV. 


115 


le  half  of  the 
t  have  lived 
lied  and  was 
ere  English- 
never  pub- 


»» 


m  away. 

moved,  and 

Dr.  James 
street.    The 
•rs  of  Edin- 
t  there  was 
out  of  town 
^  time  from 
man  at  this 
'  was  pretty 
csons  going 
abbath  too, 
3  to  Green- 
is  the  bell 
le  horse  to 

read  their 

they  kept 
8.  Dr.  Pll- 
l  preached 
reet.  The 
-sided  old 

and 'find 
living  and  -M 


the  dead.    Their  church-doors  were  seldom  oloied. 
In  the  quietness  of  the  day  and  stillness  of  the  night 
their  notes  of  prayer  and  songs  of  praise  could  be 
heard  for  many  blocks  around.    In  this  there  w^s 
something  soothing  to  the  poor  mortals      ho  were 
standing  round  the  open  graves,  waiting  till  d»^ath 
came  behind  and  pushed  them  in.  But  the  refon    ^ 
and  orthodox  churches  were  all  shut  up.   I  wondei    d 
at  tl  e  time,  if  the  letters  of  the  merchant,  or  th^ 
prayer-book  of  the  Episcopal,  was  of  more  conse- 
quence  to  them  than  preachin  ;  to  the  dry  bones  anc 
dying  mortals  was  to  the   oi  hodox  and  reformed 
ministers. 

Now,  you  may  observe,  I  am   lot  laying  down  any 
fundamental  or  fixed  principle  in  this  matter.    I  am 
telling  you  what  I  thought  at  the  time.  It  brought  to 
ray  mind,  and  I  could  not  help  drawing  a  comparison 
with  a  story  I  read,  I  think  it  was  in  Harrison's  Mu- 
seum, printed  at  No.  3  Peck-slip.  It  happened  about 
twenty  years  before  Bonaparte  ei  :ered  Italy ;  and 
showed  to  the  world  that  the  Pope  in  Rome  had  no 
more  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  lor  in  the  waters 
under  the  earth,  than  the  most  wee  :  and  sickly  of 
Adam's  sons ;    inasmuch  as  all  the   Bulls  he  could 
muster  could  not  so  much  as  stop  the  progress  of  a 
single  French  pistol-ball.    I  say  it  was  at  this  time 
when  the  Bishops  in  France  were  believed  to  be 
something  more  than  men — that  the  Bishop  of  Paris, 
after.being  well  fed,  and  well  watered,  (with  wine,) 
took  an  English  nobleman  out  to  show  him  all  his 


116 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


kingdom  and  the  glory  thereof:  he  had  fine  ear- 
dens  and  fine  green-houses,  fine  fountains,  and  fine 
baths   Brussels  carpets  and  beautiful  parlors,  a  beau- 
tiful library  and  elegant  pictures;    but  one  thing 
needful  was  wanting  which  is  a  very  essential  article 
n  comfortable  housekeeping,  viz.  he  had  no  beau- 
tifulwife-this  the  canons  (these  powerful  engines 
of  the  church)  forbid.   Having  seen  all  these  pretty 
articles,  ah  !    exclaims  the  nobleman,  what  a  pity  : 
death  will  come  and  rob  you  of  them  all.  Ah  !  Li 
ed  the  Bishop, there's  the  rub;  most  willingly  would 
I  forego  my  seat  in  Paraduc,  provided  I  could  retain 
my  place  m  Paris.   Now,  for  the  life  of  me,  I  could 
not  help  thinking  that  some  of  the  shepherds  of  the 
flock  at  that  time  in  New-York  were  exactly  on  this 
point  of  the  same  opinion  with  the  Bishop  of  Paris 


Antit  Schuyler's  Grave. 


"  Thou  wilh  familiar  thing,  arl  gemly  hid." 

It  was  about  the  twentieth  of  the  hot  month  of 
July,  when  people  who  are  at  ease,  eating,  sitting 
or  sleeping  ,„  their  spacious  palaces  in  StJe-street 
and  whose  lofty   rooms   are   cooled   by  the   fresh 
breeze  from  the  Atlantic  with  each  returning  tide 
when  those  who  have  ice  to  .nnl  ,1..; i  "     ' 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


117 


to  cool  their  blood,  and  fans  to  cool  their  faces,  and 
who  leave  all  the  sober  realities  of  life  which  they 
enjoy  in  those  mansions  of  health  on  the  banks  of 
our  rivers,  will  dive  into  those  hot-beds  of  perspira- 
tion, the  after-cabins  of  line-boats  on  the  Grand 
Canal,  in  search  of  bliss.  It  was  at  this  season, 
having  finished  the  business  which  called  me  west, 
I  thought  it  would  be  more  profitable  and  Tnore 
comfortable  to  adopt  a  retrograde  rather  than  a  for- 
ward movement;  for,  in  the  forward  march,  yoi  ^e 
first  in  danger  of  suffocation  in  the  cabin;  or,  i*a- 
condly,  of  having  your  head  struck  from  your  shoul- 
ders by  one  of  those  low-minded  bridges  which 
everywhere  intersect  the  canal. 

Before  setting  my  face  to  the  east,  however,  I 
took  a  stand  between  the  living  mass  on  the  canal- 
boats  and  the  dead  mass  of  trunks,  bandboxes  and 
other  domestic  lumber  moving  from  the  railroad- 
cars.  One  hoary-headed  veteran  had  under  his  com- 
mand no  less  than  twenty-two  persons,  consisting  of 
wives,  servants  and  children  of  the  first  and  second 
crop ;  the  young  ones  crying,  the  old  ones  screaming, 
the  servants  swearing  and  the  large  drops  of  sweat 
rolling  over  the  rubicund  nose  and  cheeks  of  the 
veteran,  made  you  think  of  a  shower  of  red  currants 
on  a  mountain  of  snow.  I  calculate  the  expense  of 
this  same  caravan  could  not  be  less  that  thirty  doUais 
per  day ;  to  be  sure  at  the  Springs  they  expect  to 
hear  music  and  dancing;  but  I  thought  this  was 
paying  too  dear  for  their  whistle. 


118 


REMINISCENCES    OP 


When  th.V      I       '  "'''''''"^   y«'  ■«»'•«   ravage 

infanT„f  /T     "'"''  '""'•'^  P'-"^-!  through  the 
infant  at  the  breast  and  entered  the  heart  nf  7, 
mother.    ^Vhen  the  knife  of  the  Indian,  t "  t Ire 

rir  TheTefe:  ot^  r^T  ^^-^  "^-"-^ 

Qiooa  to  drmk  because  they  were  worthy  of  it  only 
I  stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Mohawk  River  whole 

andthZ  L tf  ^  '•  '"'  *"' ''''  ^"■^"  "P  *''  ^"0-. 
I  met  three  squaws  returning  from  the  city  •  their 

neck  1!  f  "°'''  ornaments  on  her  feet  and 

comelv    thn   '.""P'^'"""    ""'  countenance  was 
comely,    hough  tinged  with  melancholy.    I  offered 
hem  a  putance,  which  they  received  witl.  a  couneTy 
I  felt  as  an  intruder  on  their  soil.   I  looked  on  the 
movmg  erowds  in  cars  and  carriages  flying  along 
with  horse  and  steam,  all  catching  folly  as  it  flies 
and  grasping  at  pleasure  as  it  slipp^ed  thro.lh  .t,v 


I 


ed  in  one 
^s,  led  on 
e  savage, 
•ough  the 
irt  of  its 
yet  more 
e  man  of 
►  harrow- 
'enger  of 
e  nation 
111  shores 
fit  only, 
r,  whose 
>«es  and 
e  of  the 
le  ghost, 

Y;  their 
'  a  finer 
3et  and 
ce  was 
offered 
)urtesy. 
on  ihe 
;■  along 
it  flies, 

n  tnoiT* 


GRANT  THOKBUHM.  Jjg 

Bngers.  I  thought  it  was  better  to  go  to  the  place 
of  mourning,  than  the  house  of  mirth,  as  the  former 
IS  the  end  of  all  things,  and  the  living  will  lay  it  to 

l.ke  thorns  under  the  pot,  and  bent  my  steps  to  thf 
grave  of  Aunt  Schuyler.      This  house  of  silence  lies 
on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  between  Albany  and 
Troy,  m  view  of  the  Isle  of  Swans,  so  beautifully 
described   by    Mrs.   Grant  in   her  History  of   an 
American  Lady,  lately  republished.    Here  rests  the 
:    mortal  part  of  those  who  belonged  to  that  worthy 
I    lamily,  perhaps  beginning  with  him  whose  moulder- 
■ng  clay  first  mingled  with  American  soil ;  and  he-, 
lie  unstrung  the  sturdy  arms  which  first  stemmed       , 
stream  and  coursed  the  rapids  of  the  broad-spre- J- 
mg  Mohawk  m  search  of  Indian  traffic.    Whi  e  I 
stood  by  the  grave  (for  reverence  kept  back  .ny  foot ) 
I  thought  how  cold  now  was  the  warm  heart  of  her 
who  once  spread  pleasure  all  around;  who  poured 
balm  on  the  wounds  of  the  fallen  Samaritan,  from 
the  highest  officer  of  his  majesty  down  to  the  hardy 
suckling  of  the  ill-fated  Indian  squaw  ^ 

.Ja^  r""^^'^  "  ^"'•^'>'"'<'«d  by  a  neat  fence  and 
Bhaded  by  ancent  trees  ;  near  by  stands  the  manor 

style  of  Dutch  comfort.    It  was  in  this  abode  of  un- 

and  had  her  being.    It  was  nearly  destroyed  by  fire 

m  the  summer  of  1759.    Madam  was  sitting  under  a 

""^  "'  -"""^^  "^^'^  ^°  "Out  oi  the  house,  uncon- 


120 


BEMINISCENCES   OF 


scious  of  the  fire  which  was  already  making  rapid 
progress  in  the  garret.  General  Bradstreet,  com- 
manding a  British  regiment  then  lying  in  the  vi- 
cinity, was  riding  up  to  the  house,  and  first  observed 
the  smoke ;  he  was  afraid  to  alarm  her,  but  when  he 
told  her  she  heard  it  with  the  utmost  composure. 
Keeping  her  seat,  she  ordered  every  thing  in  the 
most  composed  manner,  as  if  she  had  nothing  to 
lose.  It  is  rebuilt  on  the  same  plan,  and  part  of  the 
old  wall  incorporated  in  the  building.  It  is  now  oc- 
cupied by  a  lineal  descendant,  a  widow,  a  fine-look- 
ing, corpulent  Dutch  matron,  of  three-score  years ; 
and,  from  Mrs.  Grant's  description  of  Madam,  and 
during  an  hour's  social  conversation  with  this  lady 
in  Aunt  Schuyler's  room,  I  almost  fancied  I  saw  be- 
fore me  the  spirit  and  the  person  of  her  who  sat 
there  nearly  a  century  ago,  when  directing  the  stu- 
dies and  smiling  on  the  playful  sports  of  Mrs.  Grant, 
the  widow  of  General  Hamilton,  and  other  distin- 
guished relics  of  the  days  o'  lang  syne.  I  here 
flaw  a  full-length  portrait  of  Mr.  Philip  Schuyler,* 
dressed  as  he  appeared  before  Queen  Anne  in  1709, 
and  painted  by  her  request.  The  queen  oflfered  to 
make  him  a  knight  j  he  declined  the  honor  by  saying 
he  had  brothers  in  America  not  so  rich  as  himself, 
and  he  did  not  wish  to  bear  a  higher  title  than  they! 


♦  For  a  very  interesting  history  of  this  worthy  gentleman, 
see  Paulding's  Dutchman's  Fireside,  and  Mrs.  Grant's  history 
aforesaid. 


GRIWT   THORbTJfiif. 


121 


core  years  j 
IVIadam,  and 
th  this  lady 
d  I  saw  be- 
i«r  who  sat 
ing  the  stu- 
Mrs.  Grant, 
)ther  distin- 
le.     I    here 

Schuyler,* 
me  in  1709, 
I  offered  to 
or  by  saying 

as  himself, 
e  than  they. 

ly  gentleman, 
rant's  history 


Ihe  son  and  grandson  of  the  present  occupant  very 
pohtely  conducted  me  round  the  premises,  pointing 
/out   the   spots   and   localities   referred    to  in    Mrs 
Grant's  Amcrica?i  Lady,    I  here  enjoyed  a  feast  of 
reason  and  a  flow  of  soul  not  every  day  to  be  met 
with.    Wo  talked  of  Troy ;   a  gentleman  in  company 
knew  It  when  it  contained  three  houses.    We  talked 
of  Albany  as  it  looked  in  1707,  when,  as  soon  as  the 
sun  had  sunk  behind  the  Catskill   Mountains,  you 
might  have  seen  the  whole  population  in  the  streets 
These   primitive   beings   were   seated   in   porches 
grouped  together  according  to  similarity  of  years 
or   inclinations;    at  one    door    young   matrons,    at 
another  the  elders  of  the  people,   at  a  third   the 
youths  and  maidens  gayly  chatting  or  singing  toge- 
ther, while  the  children  played  around  the  trees,  or 
waited  by  the  cows  for  the  chief  ingredient  of  their 
,   frugal  support,  which  they  generally  ate  sitting  on 
the  steps  in  the  open  air.    Then  there  were  no  banks 
nor  exchange-offices;    no  Eagle-Hotel  nor  lottery, 
office  ;  no  opera  nor  playhouse ;  no  Italian  rope  nor 
etage-dancers ;  no  men  singers  nor  women  singers  ; 
no  live  elephants  and  monkeys,  which  pick  the  pock- 
ets of  simple  men  and  silly  women  of  their  hard  earn- 
ings, no,  no,  they  were  then  unknown  ;  even  the  law- 
yer and  doctor  were  obliged  to  hoe  corn  for  a  living, 
and  the  spade  of  the  grave-digger  was  laid  by  to  rust! 
Now  I  was  induced  to  visit  this  venerated  spot  by 
a  combination  of  recollections  and  reminiscences  of 
»— ^- -  o-"'-  '^j-    ■«■«'  vTtto  ill  uie  yejjTs  wiieu  tne  yellow 

U 


122 


BEMINISCENCES  OF 


fever  annually  swept  our  streets,  and  most  of  the  in- 
habitants fled  for  refuge  to  the  country.  For  reasons 
which  satisfied  myself,  I  always  remained,  and  as  I 
never  got  the  fever,  my  neighbors  used  to  think  I 
never  would.  Therefore,  when  they  shut  up  their 
houses,  before  going  away  they  left  their  keys  with 
me,  to  be  ready  in  case  of  fire,  or  to  air  them  occa- 
sionally, &c.  Among  them  were  the  keys  of  several 
churches,  the  city  library,  &c.  As  I  lived  in  what 
was  termed  the  infected  district  during  the  fever  of 
1822,  and  as  the  board  of  health  undertook  to  board 
in  or  to  board  out  the  fever  with  a  few  hundred  of 
Albany  boards,  I  of  course  was  boarded  in  and 
boarded  out  also,  and  having  nothing  else  to  do,  I 
spent  my  time  among  the  sick,  and  among  the  books 
in  the  City  Library.  Then  I  used  to  roam  through 
fields  and  floods  of  fancy,  entirely  forgetting  the 
signs  of  the  times. 

In  one  of  these  airy  flights  I  laid  my  hand  on  the 
American  Lady,  printed  by  my  late  esteemed  friend, 
Mr.  Samuel  Campbell,  in  1809.  (Mr.  Campbell  died 
a  few  years  ago,  perhaps  the  oldest  book-publisher 
in  America.)  I  had  never  heard  of  this  book,  and 
I  read  it  with  both  pleasure  and  profit.  In  my  late 
visit  to  Scotland  I  paid  my  respects  to  the  worthy 
authoress  of  this  book,  the  honorable  Mrs.  Grant, 
of  Lagan,  who,  I  understand,  yet  lives,  enjoying 
health  in  body  and  mind,  in  the  eighty-fifth  year  of 
her  age.  Conversing  about  the  book,  she  assured 
me  It  was  no  romance,  but   a  plain  matter-of-fact 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


>st  of  the  in- 
For  reasons 
3d,  and  as  I 
to  think  I 
ut  up  their 
r  keys  with 
•  them  occa- 
s  of  several 
ed  in  what 
the  fever  of 
ok  to  board 
hundred  of 
ded  in  and 
ilse  to  do,  I 
ig  the  books 
am  through 
getting   the 

band  on  the 
med  friend, 
Tipbell  died 
k-publisher 
J  book,  and 
In  my  late 
the  worthy 
Irs.  Grant, 
i,  enjoying 
ifth  year  of 
he  assured 

Itter-of-fart. 


123 


statement  of  events,  to  many  of  which  she  was  an 
eye-witness.  I  was  much  pleased  a  few  weeks  ago 
to  see  this  book  republished.  I  would  recommend  to 
every  man,  woman  and  child,  having  a  drop  of  New- 
York  State  blood  in  their  veins,  to  get  this  book,  to- 
gether with  Paulding's  Dutchman's  Fireside,  (which 
completes  the  history  of  the  worthies  referred  to,) 
and  if  they  can  read  without  the  blood  dancing 
through  their  veins,  their  hearts  must  be  as  cold  as 
the  marble  of  Siberia. 


Graham's  Bread  Again. 

"Some  men  would  wiaer  be 
•  Than  Him  who  fom'd  them;  would  eschew  the  good 
God  gives  to  all  so  richly  to  enjoy," 

Fifteen  more  Lectures,  to  commence  on  Monday 
evenmg,  forty-five  on  Sunday  evenings  of  last  year 
a  letter  to  a  late  worthy  Mayor  of  ours,  as  long  as 
your  arm,  besides  sundry  essays  to  certain  cholera 
doctors  who  had  the  impudence  to  say  it  was  better 
tor  a  man  to  swallow  six  ounces  of  wheat  kernels 
than  to  cram  down  a  whole  back-load  of  husks  and 
cut  straw,  which  are  only  fit  for  swine  to  eat-why 
the    thmg    is    monstrous  ;-sixty-five    lectures    on 
bread  !~it  s  worse  than  the  burying  of  11,500  "  pav- 
ing stones,"  which  took  place  in  Broadway  about 
twenty  years  ago;  and  it^s  worse  than  the  fourteen 


124, 


REMINISCENCES   OP 


Tomes  (every  one  of  whicli  was  as  large  as  the 
Dutch  Church  Bible)  wrote  by  Father  Ambrose  in 
the  thirteenth  century,  on  the  patience  of  Job. 
Now  all  this  appears  to  me  to  be  absurd  nonsense— 
a  wind  of  words—a  loss  of  time.  I  will  put  it  in 
three  words,  and  prove  it  by  experience  (better 
than  a  thousand  baseless  theories)  to  be  true— that 
J8--Ncver  eat,  enough.  About  forty  years  aero,  hav- 
ing  read  the  account  of  the  mutiny  on  board  of  the 
I  ship  Bounty,  Captain  Bligh,   when  he  and  a  number 

of  his  crew  were  set   adrift  in  the   middle  of  the 
ocean,  with  only  a  few  bags  of  bread  and  a  iew  gal- 
Ions  of  water;  how  they  lived  many  days  on  two  or 
three  ounces  of  biscuit  and  a  few  drops  of  water 
measured  to  them  every  twenty-four  hours  in  a  nut' 
shell ;  how  they  at  length  made  land,  and  were  able 
to  walk,  &c. ;  thinks  I  to  myself,  we  surely  eat  and 
drmk  more  than  is  necessary  to  support  our  feeble 
frames.    Next  day  at  dinner  1  laid  on  my  plate  the 
usual  number  of  slices  of  roast  beef  and  bread;  having 
demolished  about  one  half,  I  arose,  went  quietly  about 
my  business,  returned  to  the  table  fifteen  minutes 
thereafter,  tried  to  eat,  but  could  not,  my  taste  and 
appetite  was  gone-that  afternoon  I  felt  more  light 
easy,   comfortable,  and   more  fit   for  business  than 
1    had    done    for  many    days    previous,    nor  did  I 
feel  any  wish  to  partake  of  my  tea  sooner  than  my 
usual   hour ;    next  day  I  repeated  the  experiment 
with  the  same  comfortable  success,  and  so  I  have  con- 
tmued  until  this  day,  going  from  my  store,  eating  mv 


i^, 


GRANT  THOHBURN. 


135 


victuals,  and  back.— I  am  never  absent  over  twenty- 
five  minutes ;  four  ounces  of  meat,  boiled  or  roasted 
as  many  of  the  finest  of  wheat  bread,  with  half  a 
pint  of  coffee  left  from  the  morning,  serves  for  my 
usual  dinner-thus  have  I  lived  for  thirty  years  with- 
out  having  to  pay  a  doctor  or  apothecary  one  dollar 
for  patchmg  my  own  carcass.     It  is  not  by  usincr 
the  good  things  which  a  kind  Providence  has  laid  so 
bountifully  to  our  hands,  but  by  abusing  them  that 
men  convert  these  into  curses  to  themselves  •  after 
cramming  for  the  space  of  twenty  years,  commenc- 
mg  at  eight  in  the  morning  and  closing  at  midnight 
with  smoked  beef,  Bologna  sausages,  turtle  soup,  and 
fned  oysters,  in  such  quantities  that  they  can  hardly 
nse  from  their  seat ;  by  these  means  they  destroy 
the  powers  of  digestion,  and  then  they  complain  of 
dyspepsia,  and  growl  at  their  hard  lot,   after  they 
have  poisoned  their  frame  by  the  abuse  of  the  very 
means  which  God  gave  them  for  its  support :  now 
these  men  are  past  all  remedy-they  may  eat  bran 
or  husks,  or  what  they  please,  but  they  will  never 
again   have  a  proper  relish  for  the  good  things  of 
this  life;  but  young  men  of  twenty-two  may  avoid 
this  rock.    With  regard  to  young  and  old  4omen, 
m  all  my  practice  I  never  found  a  case  of  dyspepsia 
among  them ;  it  is  only  among  those  blustering,  purse- 
proud,  long-whiskered  lords  of  the    creation,  who 
lower  themselves  beneath  the  beasts  that  perish     I 
say  again,  that  young  men  may  avoid  this  rock :  ihe 
"«^«.  Z3  easily  cnea.   lou  have  no  idea 


IV 


how 


126 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


few  ounces  of  good  substantial  food  a  man  may  go 
through  the  labors  of  a  day.  I  am  on  my  feet  from 
five  or  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  nine  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  without  sitting  thirty  minutes  in  all  that 
time,  yet  I  don't  eat  above  twenty -four  ounces  of 
food  in  the  t  venty-four  hours—but,  then,  it  is  sub- 
stantial food,  which  supports  the  body  without  over- 
loading the  stomach. 

It  is  a  fact  well  worth  considering,  that  none  of 
the  colleges  of  physicians,  from  the  days  that  Noah's 
ark  was  afloat,  down  to  the  i)re8ent  time,  have  been 
able  to  tell  what  quantity  of  food  is  necessary  to 
support  human  nature.    With   regard  to  Mr.  Gra- 
ham, I  have  never  seen  him,  to  my  knowledge,  but 
I  think  he  must  b^  a  small  mortal ;  for  I  have  ever 
found  that  the  litt-e  dogs  barked  longest  and  loudest 
in  the  barn-yards— neither  have  I  tasted  his  bread, 
though  I  have  seen  it  on  tables  where  I  have  dined. 
It  looked  to  me  very  much  like  bran  and  brickbats 
pounded  and  compounded  together,  with  perhaps  a 
few  ounces  of  conceit  intermixed,  to  make  people 
believe  it  would  do  them  good  whether  they  swal- 
lowed it  or  not.    I  always  thought  superfine  wheat 
flour  was  preferable.    Why,  really,  I  do  think  it  the 
very  height  of  impudencp   (I    had  almost  said)  to 
suppose  that  we,  who  have  lived  to  see  very  near 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  have  so  little 
common  sense  that  wo  are  now  to  be  lectured  into 
the  belief  that  chaff  is  better  than  wheat.    You  re- 
member it  is  mentioned  in  the  old  Book,  as  an  in- 


GRANT    THORBURN. 


127 


t  none  of 
lat  Noah's 
have  been 
cessary  to 

Mr.  Gra- 
ledge,  bur. 
have  ever 
nd  loudest 
his  bread, 
ave  dined. 

brickbats 
perhaps  a 
ke  people 
hey  swal- 
ine  wheat 
link  it  the 
t  said)  to 
very  near 
e  so  little 
tured  into 
You  re- 

aa  an  in- 


m 


m. 


"W' 


Ftanco  of  God's  kindness  to  the  children  of  Israel, 
that  he  fed  them  with  the  Jinest  of  the  wheat.  Now  I 
am  perfectly  convinced,  in  my  own  mind,  that  Ca- 
naan never  produced  better  wheat,  nor  the  land  of 
Goshen  better  flour,  than  what  comes  down  the  ca- 
nal from  Buffalo  and  Rochester.  And  are  wo  now 
to  be  told,  at  our  time  of  life,  and  in  this  age  of  dis- 
covery, that  the  children  of  the  Yankees  have  not  as 
good  a  right  to  eat  of  this  fine  wheat,  as  had  the 

children  of  the /^;^g.im;YZc,7  fraternity  a  thousand  years 
ago  ?  Besides,  you  don't  read  of  any  one  feeding  on 
husks,  except  it  might  be  profligates  and  swine.  Now 
surely  you  don't  call  our  cold,  calculating  stock-job' 
bers  profligates  ;  nor  would  you  compare  any  of  our 
imported  patriots  to  s wine-notwithstanding   their 
rolling  in  the  gutter  at  election  times,  as  though  they 
were  whole  hogs.    Now,  in  all  this  matter,  I  have  no 
ill-will  against  brother  Graham.    I  beheve  he  is  a 
man  of  fine  feelings,  of  fine  speech,  and  of  fine  faste: 
but  I  have  been  thinking  to  what  better  account  he 
might  turn  his  powerful  eloquence.    We'll  suppose, 
^>r  instance,    that   he  and  William  Thompson,    of 
Brooklyn,  were  to  cast  in  their  lots  and  go  forth  to- 
gether,  declaring  a  most  powerful  crusade  against  all 
bachelors  and  rats'  nests,  and  prosecuting  this  object 
with  zeal  and  perseverance,  there  is  no  tellino-  the 
amount  of  good  that  might  accrue  from  theirloint 
labors  over  this  wide-spread  but    thinly-populated 
^,untr^y--and  in  their  absence  let  the  good  folks  in 
..ew-xonv  taKe   charge  of  their   own   stomachs^ 


mm^mmmm 


188 


lEMINISCBNCEt  OF 


Without  any  more  lecturing— let  one  and  all  of  them 
eat  of  the  best  that  is  set  before  them;  but  remem- 
ber,  never  eai  enough. 

P.  S.    With  regard  to  the  drinkable  part  of  soci- 
ety, Mr.  G.  is  informed  that  he  need  not  be  uneasy 
on  their  accounts- that   he   need   not  distract  his 
thoughts,  which  might  mar  his  studies,  an'  so  curtail 
the  sphere  of  usefulness  in  his  future  labors  of  love 
as  there   is  little  doubt  that  as  soon  as  the  river 
opens  to  Albany,  there  will  be  a  deputation  from 
aome  of  the  auxiliaries  belonging   to   the   Female 
Temperance   Society  in    the  city   of  Schenectady, 
which  will  take  care  of  this  department,of  our  State 
m  his  absence. 


Anecdote  of  Mrs.  Baron  Mure. 

"Alaa!  that  learning  su  profound, 
"  And  wit  10  exquisite,  should  meet  a  fate  to  baae 
"  So  galling  to  the  pride  of  vanity."  ' 

This  lady  resided  in  Edinburgh  in  1774.  In  the 
acceptation  of  those  days,  she  was  accounted  a  great 
hlue-stocking-maintmmng,  for  instance,  a  constant 
correspondence  with  David  Hume.  On  hearing  of 
the  death  of  that  philosopher,  she  felicitated  herself 
upon  possessing  so  many  of  his  epistolary  composi- 
tions,  as  she  expected  that  her   letters   of  course 


ORANT   THORBURN. 


1S9 


would  make  a  most  respectable  appearance  when  his 
correspondence  or  biography  came  to  be  published. 
Q  uotli  she  to  some  friends  who  were  by  her  at  the  time 
♦'I  have  most  carefully  preserved  the  letters  c  ** my  il- 
lustrious friend-putting  them  all  away  in  a  drawer  by 
themselves."  She  proposed  going  immediately  to  pro- 
duce  them  for  the  gratification  of  her  friends  ;  but  on 
opening  the  drawer,  however,  she  recollected  that  some 
tnne  previous,  on  its  becoming  too  full,  nhe  had  tied  up 
the  letters  with  tape  and  conveyed  tliem  to  a  general 
receptacle  for  loose  papers  in  an  upper  chamber.     It 
was  some  time  before  the  exact  location  of  the  papers 
could  be  ascertained  ;  but  they  were  not  to  be  found 
Here  the  following  dialogue  ensued  between  her  and 
her  servant-maid : — 

"What  has  become,  Jenny,"  said  Mrs.  Mure,  "  of 
the  bundle  tied  up  in  a  red  tape,  that  I  |>ut  into  that 
corner  1~-you  must  surely  remember  it:  where  do 
you  think  it  is  ?" 

';  Yon  ma'am  1"  cried  Jenny,  as  if  a  sudden  burst 
ot  light  had  come  in  upon  her—"  vas't  yon  V' 

"Ay,  it  was  yon,  as  you  call  it,"  responded  the 
blue-stocking—"  where  is  yon  1" 

"  Lord  bless  me,  ma'am  !"  cried  J  3nny,  -  I've  been 
Bingm  *  hens  wi'  them  this  ha'f  year '" 

Such  was  the  fate  of  one  largo  branch  of  the  cor- 
respondence  of  this  pride-puffed  philosopher.  As  for 
Mis.  Blue-Stocking,  she  never  ceased  to  lament  the 


^    •Singin'  hens   [Scottish]-that  is,  singing  fowk  »A..  .vl 
a-amers  are  plucked  oti,  over  a  blaze  of  paper!  *'' 


130 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


catastrophe  while  life  and  reason  remained.  She 
was  fi.  freethinker  like  himself,  and  showed  very  little 
concern  about  his  death ;  but  was  mightily  mortified 
that  she  could  not  shine  in  print  as  one  of  his  corres- 
pondents. 


Men  and  Manners  in   England. 

"  But  where  to  find  that  happiest  spot  below, 
"  Who  ihall  direct,  when  all  pretend  to  know  7" 

On  the  evening  of  the  twenty-second  of  Novem- 
ber, eleven  years  ago,  I  was  at  a  party  of  respectables 
in  London,  consisting  of  some  twenty  or  thirty  gen- 
tlemen and  ladies,  and  the  principal  subjects  of  con- 
versation were  Mrs.  Trollope  and  her  book— I  then 
learned  for  the  first  time,  by  the  way,  that  such  a 
woman  really  existed,  and  that  she  was  actually  resid- 
ing within  a  mile  of  the  house  at  which  I  was.     You 
may  well  suppose  that  I  was  astonished,  for  until  that 
moment  I  had  always  supposed  the  author  of  the  book 
to  be  one  of  the  Quarterly  Reviewers  in  disguise.     I 
took  a  walk  the  next  day  to  have  a  look  at  the  old  wo- 
man, but  she  was  not  at  home,  and  I  did  not  call  again. 
But  to  return  from  this  digression.     As  you  have  read 
her  handiwork,  you  may  easily  imagine  what  sort  of 
questions  would  be  put,  and  I  will  tell  you  how  I  an- 
swered them.   I  observed,  in  the  first  place,  that  when 
Fiedlers  and  mountebanks  spend  forty  days  in  trayel- 


fe<",,^ 


GRANT  THOSBURN. 


131 


ling  through  a  country  so  extensive  as  America,  about 
fifteen  of  which,  by  the  way,  were  spent  in  sleep,  and 
then  sit  down  to  give  an  account  of  what  they  saw 
and  did  not  see,  they  ought  not  to  be  branded  as  impos- 
tors because  their  information  proves  to  be  incorrect ; 
the  public,  if  they  think  at  all,  ought  not  to  expect 
correct  information  from  such  sources,  respecting  the 
character  and  manners  of  a  people  j  and  if  they  do, 
they  richly  deserve  to  be  imposed  on.     But  they  are 
not  imposed  on;  they  buy  these  books  as  they  do 
any  other  work  of  fiction,  with  their  eyes  wide  open, 
eome  to  be  amused,  and  some  for  the  mere  sake  of 
knowing  how  great  a  lie  a  traveller  can  tell ;  and  of 
course  the  writers  are  quite  consistent  in  exerting 
themselves  with  all  their  might  to  satisfy  their  readers. 
"  Perhaps,"  said  I, "  there  is  no  country  upon  earth 
where  ladies  are  so  highly  respected  as  they  are  in 
America.     I  speak  from  forty  years'  experience— not 
that  of  forty  days ;  and  if  the  writer  of  Mrs.  TroUope'g 
book  had  really  been  a  lady  of  taste,  and  delicacy,  and 
feehng,  she  would  have  rejoiced  to  find  at  least  one 
country  under  the  sun  where  woman  holds  the  exact 
place  in  society  to  which  she  is  entitled,  and  for  which  • 
she  was  designed  by  her  Creator— namely,  the  place 
of  man's   helpmate  and  companion,  not  his   slave. 
Ihis  consideration  made  me  think  the  writer  of  the 
Trollope-book  could  be  no  lady— perhaps,  I  might 
say,  no  woman ;  the  fact  of  her  travelling  with  Fanny 
Wright  ought  to  expel  her  from  the  company  of  women. 
"' "  '^  *^^^^y  provoking  to  hear  European  writers 


e 


138 


REMINISCENCES    OF 


comparing  themselves  with  themsefves,  exalting  them- 
selves by  themselves,  and  impeaching  the  Americans 
for  want  of  refinement.     It  is  like  Cobbett  teaching 
honor,  or  the  devil  preaching  truth.     The  standard 
of  refinement  is,  or  ought  to  be,  established  by  the 
place  which  woman  holds  in  society,  and  the  usage 
she  receives  from  the  falsely  called  '  lords  of  creation ;' 
and  your  writers  have  the  confidence  to  make  com'- 
parisons  between  Europe  and  America  in  this  respect. 
I  know,"  said  I,  "that  God  has  made  many  of  your 
women  angels  of  beauty— the  present  company,  for 
instance  ;  and  among  your  actresses  are  some  of  the 
handsomest  creatures  in  the  world ;  but  the  man- 
savage  of  the  eastern  hemisphere  treats  them  as  infe- 
rior beings.     In  Africa,  women  are  his  beasts  of  bur- 
den ;  in  Asia,  the  soulless  instruments  of  his  brutal 
pleasures,  and  articles  of  merchandise  ;  and  in  pro- 
portion as  they  excel  in  beauty,  the  more  shameful  is 
their  treatment ;  sold  by  one  tyrant  to  another,  with 
as  little  concern  as  would  be  felt  in  trafficing  for  an 
ass  or  a  young  camel.     In  Europe  their  degradation 
IS  still  deeper,  for  there  they  receive  just  education 
enough  to  know  their  rights  and  the  place  they  ought 
to  fill  and  to  enjoy,  and  are  thus  made  to  feel  more 
acutely  the  abject  state  in  which  they  are  plunged  by 
the  tyranny  of  man.     Many  of  them,  young,  lovely, 
sensitive  creatures,  are  shut  up  in  monasteries,  and 
this,  too,  by  those  who  gave  them  birth ;  or  married, 
without  consulting  their  own  inclinations,  to  some  old' 

■M/rtf n.rti.*-     'mI^I. ^•„i       1-11  1  .  _    .  ' 


worn-out.  rich  or  titlfid  ^ohal^^h^^ fi,«  i,:^ji.-  ..._ 


GRANT  TnORBURN. 


133 


pulses  of  their  nature  thwarted,  and  all  the  useful 
purposes  for  which  they  were  created  lost  to  the 
world  and  to  themselves.  Compared  with  this,  the 
burning  of  a  Hindoo  widow  is  a  tender  mercy. 

"  In  our  own  day  we  have  seen  in  France,  that 
country  of  chivalry,  gallantry,  and  refinement,  young, 
learned,  high-born  and  accomplished  females  led  out 
by  ruffians,  whose  hands  yet  smoked  with  blood—we 
have  seen  them  tied  in  groups,  after  the  manner  of 
the  savages  in  our  western  wilds—we  have  seen  their 
heads  roll  in  the  basket  of  the  guillotine  till  the  arms 
of  the  executioner  grew  faint.     In  England,  women 
are  still  seen  exposed  for  sale  in  open  market,  with 
halters  round  their  necks.     Were  such  brutalities 
attempted  in  America  on  women,  every  rifle  from 
Main  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  would  be  raised  in  her 
defence,  and  yet  your  book-makers  have  the  very 
great  modesty  to  talk  to  Americans  about  refinement. 
"  There  is  another  source  of  misery  to  the  ladies  in 
Europe,  (not  known  in  America,)  and  which  sours 
all  the  sweet  charities  of  their  lives  :  viz.  their  family 
distinctions,  their  bloods  and  their  titles.     Thousands 
of  them  are  here  sacrificed,  like  Jephtha's  daughter ; 
hence  the  forced  marriages,  the  unhappy  marriages, 
the  runaway  marriages,  the  elopements,  and  finally, 
the  crim.  con.  trials— words,  the  very  meaning  of 
which  is  unknown  to  the  ladies  of  America. 

A  gentleman  remarked,  "  If  you  hold  such  senti- 
ments in  your  book,  I  fear  it  will  meet  a  small  sale 


amantrRt  ua 

a--  — 


12 


,  iiiCi  c  Is  not  a  spot  m  iite 


134 


KEMINISCENCES   OF 


world  where  liberty  of  speech  and  opinion  (barring 
treason)  is  more  tolerated  than  in  London;  my  book 
contamsjust  such  a  chapter,  for  the  benefit  of  Fiedler 
Trollope,  and  Co.     Besides,  I  observed  in  a  window 
yesterday,   a  pamphlet  in   vindication  of  America 
agamst  the  aspirations  of  Trollope,  by  an  Englishman,' 
and  that  pamphjet  went  into  a  second  edition  in  six 
weeks. ' 


il  i 


Obituary. 

"Letitgrrow 
Greener  with  years,  and  blossom  through  their  flight." 

It  has  ever  been  the  custom  for  man,  whether  in 
a  tml  or  uncivilized  state,  to  pay  a  decent  respect 
to  departed  worth.  The  principle  is  honorable  to 
human  nature,  and  useful  in  society,  inasmuch  as  it 
stimulates  to  the  practice  of  whatsoever  things  are 
pure,  honest,  lovely,  and  of  good  report. 

It  is  not  meant  as  a  burlesque  on  this  praiseworthy 
practice,  that  I  now  give  you  an  obituary  notice  of 
a  departed  mansion ;  but  it  is  to  keep  up  the  re- 
membrance.  Know  then,  that  oa  the  10th  Septem- 
ber, 1835,  the  Friends'  Meeting-house  in  Liberty- 
street  vanished  from  out  of  the  city.  To  say  that  it 
died  a  natural  death  would  not  be  the  fact,  for  the 
building  was  strong  enough  co  have  withstood  the 


{  t-i 


ORANT   THORBURN. 


125 


blasts  of  centuries ;  but  of  late  it  has  been  the  pre- 
vailing disease  to  pluck  up,  pull    down,  and  erase 
whatever  is  ancient  in  structure  or  honorable  from 
age  in  this  our  swelling  city.     In  1794  stood  a  Ger- 
man church  in  Broadway;  it  was  then  used  for  a 
storehouse;   on  its   site  now  stands   Grace    .durch. 
Public  stores  cover  the  spot  where  lately  towered 
the  weather-beaten  steeple  of  the  French  Protestant 
church  in  Pine-street.    In  Cedar,  between  Nassau 
and  William-streets,  where  stood  the  Presbyterian 
church,  are  now  stores  of  cotton  and  bags  of  wool. 
The   Lutheran,  known   by  the  name   of  Labagh's 
church,  in  Nassau,  near  Maiden-lane,  is  occupied  by 
Dummer  and  his  tea-pots  of  china.    Already   has 
commerce  fix^d  her  Argus-eyes  on  the  Middle  Dutch 
and  Scotch  Presbyterian  churches  in  Cedar-street ; 
and  ere  long  (where  the  eloquent  Dr.  Masoa  used 
to  pour  forth  the  thoughts  that  breathe  and  words 
that  burn)  nothing  will  be  heard  there  but  the  song 
of  the  windlass  and  the    black  foot  of  the  negio 
trampling  over  that  consecrated  spot;  thanks  for  the 
hope  of  another  and  a  better  world,  where  turning 
and  overturning  is  unknown. 

But  to  return  to  the  meeting-house,  where  Joseph 
Delaplame,  Anna  Brathwait,  and  many,  very  many 
worthy  brothers  and  sisters  of  that  sect  worshipped 
God  m  the  small  still  voice  of  his  word,  and  where 
Flora  lately  held  her  courts,  smiling  at  Solomon  and 
all  his  artificial  glory. 

As  my   earliest  and  mnct  ni^ioot^^   - ii-_^_'_ 


136 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


i 


.are  connected  with  that  house  and  neighborhood,  I 
will  give  you  a  few  anecdotes  of  some  characters 
and  circumstances  that  have  transpired  within  the  last 
forty-one  years  of  my  residence  in  that  street;  but  I 
cannot  forego  the  pleasure  of  first  calling  to  remem- 
brance the  name  of  that  upright  merchant  and  finish- 
ed  gentleman,  the  late  Mr.  Isaac  Wright,  who  first 
advertised  packets  to  sail  at  a  stated  hour;  and  how 
well  he  redeemed  his  pledge  the  public  know  and 
feel  by  profitable  experience.     I  now  hold  in  my 
hand  Lang  &  Turner's  New- York  Trazette  of  Janu- 
ary 5th,  1818,  in  which  the  editor  remarks,  "  This 
day  will  witness  the  commencement  of  the  line  of 
American  packets  between   New- York  and  Liver- 
pool.   The  James  Munro  will  take  her  departure 
this  morning  at   10  o'clock.     What  a  striking  evi- 
dence  it  furnishes  of  the  growing  commerce  of  our 
city,  of  the  activity  of  her  merchants,  and  the  skill 
and  intrepidity  of  her  seamen.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
this  arrangement  will  be  completely  successful   as  it 
promises  to  be  of  great  public  utility.    It  will  be 
a  sort  of  chain  connecting  the    new  and   the  old 
world,"  &c. 

From  the  sailing  of  this  packet  we  may  date  the 
day  from  whence  the  commerce  of  New- York  be- 
gan to  increase  seven-fold ;  and  as  long  as  the  waters 
of  the  lakes,  the  Hudson,  and  the  ocean  continue  to  ' 
amalgamate,  the  names  of  Fulton,  Livingston,  Clin- 
ton, and  Isaac  Wright  will  be  held  in  remembrance 
by  a  grateful  posterity.    But  in  our  dav.  e-rahtn^^  i. 


GRANT  THORBITRN. 


137 


a  rare  virtue  indeed.    By  the  way,  for  the  pleasure 
and  profit  of  these  packets  (for  now  they  run  to  al- 
most every  port  in  Europe  and  on  our  own  conti- 
nent) we  are  indebted  to  Quaker  punctuality ;  and 
as  you  all  acknowledge  the  fitness  and  beauty  of  the 
thing,  why  not  go  and  do  likewise.   Is  it  not  an  in- 
sult to  common  sense  to  invite  a  man  to  attend  the 
funeral  of  his  brother  at  five,  when  he  knows  his  ser- 
vices are  not  wanted  till  seven  ?  If  time  is  worth 
twenty-five  cents  per  hour,  why  keep  fifty  men  wait- 
ing  two  hours,  at  a  loss  of  fifty  cents  each,  just  be- 
cause you  want  nerve  to  carry  forward  your  own  ar- 
rangements.   Look  at  the  domestic  economy  of  the 
Friends,  their  system  and  regularity  in  all  things- 
it  is  thus  they  are  able  to  give  towards  the  support 
of  the  poor  of  other  denominations,  while  they  them- 
selves ask  help  from  none. 

In  1794  there  stood  a  small  building  in  front  of 
the  house  now  removed;  it  was  occupied  as  a  school 
for  the  society,  and  by  it  stood  a  weeping- willow, 
which  shaded  the  school  and  dropt  its  tears  on  the 
pavement  opposite.     If  my  memory  serves,  in  1802 
or  3  the  schoolhouse  was  taken  down,  and  the  pre- 
sent building  set  up ;  the  house  was  used  as  a  place 
of  worship,  and  the  ground  as  a  place  of  burial,  till 
after  the  yellow-fever  of  1822.    Since  then  the  meet- 
ings were  only  held  on  particular  occasions,  and,  if  I 
mistake  not,  there  was  only  one  interment  since.    In 
October^  1826,  I  purchased  the  premises;  the  fol- 
lowing December  the  ground  all  around  and  under 

12* 


138 


REMINISCENCES   OP 


the  meetiDg-house   was   trenched  to  the  depth  of 
seven  feet;  the  bones  carefully  collected,  packed  in 
neat  boxes,  and  deposited  in  a  cemetery  out  of  town 
In  removng  the  bones  we  discovered  some  interest^ 
ing  rehcs;  among  them  was  a  leg  and  thigh  bono, 
each  of  wlHch  measured  two  inches  more  than  the 
longest  leg  or  thigh  bones  which  we  could  select 
from  a  great  number ;  the  man  must  have  been  a 
giant     Another  leg  and  thigh  bone  had  been  dis- 
eased m  the  knee-pan,  the  joint  of  the  knee  had 
grown  «ol.d,  the  leg  crooked  out  behind  in  the  form 
of  a  two-ieet  ,ron  square  ;  the  bones  were  large.    In 
a  coffin  wh,ch  was  carefully  opened,  the  bones  lay 
n  regular  order;  to  the  skull  was  attached  a  largo 

otL  u  ^     ''■■'  "'""y  ^"'''"'^  "P-  ^''d  bound 

together  w.th  a  tortoise-shell  comb.    I  washed  th« 

hau-  from  the  clods  of  the  valley,  which  appeared  al 

ow  the  head  ;  with  p.ous  care  I  then  softly  placed 
the  bones  and  hair  in  a  coffin,  there  it  will  rest  till 

tTI  /"^  T  ^?  "P  ""^  •'"'"^  '^■'''  "«  in  them. 
The  comb  when  cleaned  looked  as  fair  as  new,  and 

|t  hung  by  our  desk  for  years,  but  lately  disappeared. 

This  house  and  us  uses  will  probably  be  spoken  of  as 

^ng  as  New-York  endures-here  was  held  the  last 

Orthodox  yearly  meaing,  according  to  the  primitive 

pinciples   of  brotherly  love,   before   the  devil  had 

thrown  among  them  fire-brands,  arrows  and  death 

It  18  a  coincidence  worth  noticing,  that  I  made  the 

Lis  Wnir.n  ivoi^a  im^.,]  i-.  «.l .•         _^    i.*     i      . 

*0n  Ui  tOlB  DUlidlDg  J 


nails  which  were  nar^A  in  tUo,  «,«»«#.: o^i^- 


GBANT  THORBURN. 


139 


from  this,  and  many  other  pleasing  recollections,  the 
stone  and  dust  about  it  are  precious  in  my  eyes.  So,  by 
way  of '  salvo '  to  my  feelings,  I  have  purchased  all  the 
timbers,  including  the  roof,  with  which  I  intend  (if 
spared)  to  make  me  a  building  in  the  Cove,  wherein 
to  dwell,  if  so  Providence  orders,  till  they  place  me 
in  my  own  coffin.     While  I  sit  under  the  six  pillars 
that  supported  the  gallery,  which  I  intend  to  place 
in  front  of  the  dwelling.  [  can  live  (in  imagination) 
my  life  over  again,  and  commune  with  the  spirits  of 
the  venerated  dead.     As  most  of  the  old  buildings  in 
the  neighborhood  are  now  levelling  to  the  dust,  per- 
haps when  I  have  leisure  I  will  give  you  a  fewremi- 
niscences  of  them  and  some  of  their  inhabitants. 


Ancedote  of  George  Thompson  the  AbolitionUc. 


••And  hopett  thou  hence  untcath'd  to  go, 
"No!  by  St.  Bride  of  Bothwell,  No!" 

i 

In  January,  1834,  I  was  sojourning  in  Dalkeith, 
my  native  village,  in  Scotland.  A  few  days  previous 
to  my  arrival,  this  man,  who  had  been  tuniing  the 
question  upside  down,  was  there  also.  He  had  as- 
sc-fied  among  other  things  equally  true,  in  a  public 


140 


BEMINISCENCES   OF 


\ 


i 


ecture   that  a  colored  person  was  never  permitted 

lil  7","  '.'u""""  «=P"""""i<>n-table  with  the 
whites     I  denied  the  charge  by  saying  that  I  had 

DuTch^R  r  ""?  "r.''  "'"  'he  same' table  inihe 
Dutch  Reformed  and  Presbyterian  churches,  and  add- 
ed,  that  If  he  came  there  to  lecture  while  I  was  in 

t.ad  ct  h,m  in  public.  In  a  few  days  he  advertised 
another  lecture.    He  was  then  in  Edinburgh;  a  ge„ 

few  of  his  Edinburgh  friends,  together  with  a  num- 
ber of  clergymen  and  gentlemen  from  the  neirh- 
bormg  parishes,  to  a  dinner  at  his  house,  on  the  day 

nv  tf/       ,""  """  '?  ^^  ''"'''  "  '"«••'•   ^  "'-^  'vas 
nvited    and  went.     I  think  twenty-five  sat   round 

the  table.  I  asked  Mr.  T.  if  he  had  made  the  above 
assertion.  He  said  he  had,  because  he  was  so  in- 
formed. I  told  him  he  had  been  misinformed  in 
this,  as  well  as  m  many  other  very  important  points 
concerning  slavery  in  America,  &c.&c  He  said  he 
certainly  would  not  again  make  the  assertion,  as  hi 
was  now  satisfied  it  was  incorrect. 

From  3  P.  M.  till  7  (time  of  lecture)   the  subject 

defend  myself  agamst  the  fires  of  twenty  frigates 
whose  upper  works  were  well  stored  with  subtile 
earning  and  the  logic  of  the  schools.  I  told  them 
hat  their  great  zeal  in  the  cause  was  no  evidence  of 
their  being  right;  that  Paul  was  as  full  of  zeal  as 
any  of  them,  when  he  was  hanlipcr  n,»„  „„j 


GRANT   THORBURN. 


141 


to  the   flames   of  raartrydom.      I   told   them    that 
slavery    was    first    introduced    into     these    States 
under  the  British  government;' that  when  the  United 
States  had  gained   their  independence   they  found 
themselves  saddled  with  this  curse,   which  had  been 
entailed   by   the  Defenders  of  the  Faith,  the  Most 
Sacred  Majesties  and  the  Most  Christian  Majesties 
of  Europe;  thai  the  people  in  America  most  gladly 
would  get  clear  of  them  if  they  knew  how;  but  for 
my  own  part  I  could  not  see  in  what  manner  it  can 
be  accomplished,  except  they  do  as  the  philanthro- 
pic  kings  (white  slav<P-drivers)  in  Europe  do ;  that  is, 
go  to  war,  and  sell   them  from  one  petty  tyrant  tp 
another,  to  be  shot  at  for  twenty-live  pounds  per 
head,  as  the  Defenders  of  the  Faith  and  lords  spirit- 
ual and  temporal  of  London  did  with  the  Hessian 
soldiers  in  America,  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 
But  said  I,  gentlemen,  why  waste  your  energies 
and  expend  all  your  philanthropy  on  slaves  at  a  dis- 
tance; why  not  reserve  a  portion  to  pour  on  the 
heads  and  hearts  of  your  own  white  slaves  in  Bri- 
tain ]  the  black  slaves  in  America  do  less  work,  are 
better  fed,  better  clothed,  have  better  lodgings,  and 
better  beds  than  the  white  slaves  in  the  mines  of 
Cornwall,  or  the  millions  of  slaves  about  Leeds,  Bir- 
mingham, Manchester,  &c.    To  be  sure,  said  I,  you 
don't  sell  your  white  male  slaves  in  the  street,  but 
you  allow  (it's  the  law  of  the  land)  any  drunken 
vagabond  to  put  a  rope  round  the  waist  or  neck  of 

his  W^hlffl  bIqva  r\P  c 


'  IfC,     S,iHX     OC 


11    T 


ill 


oniicnneia 


142 


REMIIfiaCBNCKS   OF 


I 


;    he  Faith    and  the  lords  8pirituaI-(Bi8hops-pull 

k'""/7'"  ^""'  •^'^  eyeB.-perhap8  hot  one  of 
you  has  had  your  foot  from  off  the  island  in  which 
you  were  born.    Any  lazy,  unprincipled  wanderer, 
w  shmg  to  make  a  gain  of  you,  comes  with  a  fright- 
ful story  and  a  budget  of  lies;  you  receive  and  be- 
lieve h,m.    Said  I,  gentlemen,  the  first  principle  in 
nature  ,s  self-interest ;  is  it  a  credible  thing  with  you 
that  a  planter  would  pay  five  hundred  dollars  for  a 
good  servant,  and  abuse  him  in  the  manner  repre- 
sented.   Which  of  you,   having  paid  one  hundred 
guineas  for  a  hunter,  a  racer,  a  coach,  or  a  good 
f  farming  horse,  will  begin  to  torment  and  abuse  him  % 
iiut  said  I,  gentlemen,  you  know,  and  I  know,  that 
your  favorite  horses  are  better  fed,  and  live  in  more 
comfortable  dwellings  than  the  servants  and  cotters 
j    on  your  lands.    Many  of  your  laborers  are  employed 
on  branches  of  your  manufactories  tha%  in  a  few 
years  will  poison  both  «oul  and  body ;  some  I  have 
seen  with  red  eyes  and  gi^een  hair;  the  eyes  affected 
by  he  fires  to  which  they     sre  exposed,  and  the  hair 
tu.iied  green  by  the  bra«o  work..   Children  of  three 
years  enter  some  of  the  manufactories,  where  they 
drag  out  a  miserable  existence  of  fifty,  when  the 
grave-digger  finishes  the  concern.    Many,  very  many 
of  these  miserable  beings  never  ent  r  a  school,  and 
rarely  see  a  church  ;  they  grow  up  without  morals 
without  religion,  without   shame,    and   bring  forth 
slaves  like  themselves,  to  tread  in  the  same  path  of 


i 


misery.    In  Manchester   BirmlncKo       , 
proportion  ofthe  laborL^lsTaf!  2  t"  F^ 
in.cellars,  damp  and  dark  onl!?    '""'^\""'^«  ^^^«« 
infection  •  so  tLr.i.  ^P^^-^ting  as  hot-beds  of 

dom  without  .nl  ^'''  '"  '^"'*"  P'"^««  ^^«  ««J- 

^  witnout  a  plague,  created  by  their  iiUh  u«^ 


Oa  the  17.«  Of  Tobacco. 


■KINO  INCnnrTtENT    la.i..  .  ^* 

"^EWT,  ABfTRACT  AND  UNCOWNECTED   ,„.,  '♦• 

«t    m.  WHILE  THE  SMOKE  ..  CURLmrr.r      '  '"^"'^'^   "'  ^"» 
■v»  IS  CURLING  FROM  THE  PIPE. 


"Thi.  Indian  weed,  now  wither'd  quita, 
Th-gb  green  at  noon,  cut  dow«.t\i^ht, 
Show*  thy  decay— 

Ti.".thiaMnd^:f:r;r:^;*-'> 
Th^„^t''^". "' ""°''« '»»"«''•  on  high 

Then  thou  behoM'H  the  vanity         *' 
Of  Worldly  itu/r, 
Th...  »!.•  •        ^'''«  with  a  puff: 
Thus  think,  and  sn,.  i,e  tobacco." 

Now,  what  do  you  think    .f  *u- 
^ic  and  BrokenJi/e  J  1^^';'  H"  ^f -^— 
stanzas  are onlypa«of«r,  ^^  above  two 


I 


144f 


BEMINISCENCES   OF 


entitled,  "  Tobacco  Spiritualized y*  and  published  in 
Edinburgh,  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  with 
a  number  of  recommenditions.  Now,  this  same 
worthy  divine  used  to  compose  his  best  sermons  with 
a  long  pipe  in  his  mouth,  his  person  propped  upright 
in  an  arm-chair,  his  left  leg  resting  on  a  bunch  of 
Scotch  heather,  with  his  face  turned  upwards,  watch- 
ing the  wreaths  of  smoke  ascend  on  high.  It  was 
then  that  the  young  ideas  shot  up  from  the  heart  to 
the  head.  He  would  take  his  stand  on  a  hill-side, 
with  the  sky  for  a  canopy,  and  preach  two  hours  on 
a  stretch  to  an  audience  of  more  than  five  thousand, 
without  a  note  to  mar  his  eloquence,  nor  a  written 
sernion  within  a  mile  of  ^'im.  But  now  we  have  a 
set  of  simple  men,  the  sons  of  silly  women — readers, 
not  preachers  of  the  Gospel — who  fulminate  their 
bulls  or  paper  proclamations  against  this  powerful 
weed.  It  is  well  these  self-conceited  mortals  neither 
possess  the  spirit  nor  the  power  of  pope  Pius  the 
Seventh ;  otherwise  our  own  and  the  heads  of  our 
pipes  might  be  flying  in  the  air,  like  the  light  shell 
of  a  Wethersficld  onion.  Have  these  men  ever  read 
of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  whose  servant  mistook  the 
fumes  of  the  pipe  for  the  smoke  of  a  volcano  issuing 
from  the  throat  of  his  master  ]  Have  they  never  read 
of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  who  mistook  the  fore  finger  on 
the  right  hand  of  his  mistress  for  the  stopper  of  his 
pipe,  as  he  blew  the  smoke  at  the  moon,  where  his 
head  had  gone  before  1  It  is  highly  probable,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  ascending  smoke,  and  for  the  con- 


ablished  in 
intury,  with 

this  same 
rmotis  with 
ped  upright 
a  bunch  of 
ids,  watch- 
jh.  It  was 
he  heart  to 
a  hill-side, 
c)  hours  on 
e  thousand, 
r  a  written 
we  have  a 
11 — readers, 
inate  their 
s  powerful 
tals  neither 
>e  Pius  the 
jads  of  our 

light  shell 
n  ever  read 
nistook  the 
ano  issuing 
r  never  read 
'e  finger  on 
pper  of  his 

where  his 
>able,  had  it 
3r  the  con- 


GRANT   THORBURN.  ^45 

templations  that  thorefrom  ensued,  we  never  would 
W™  heard  of  the  Newtonian  sy.ten,.  nor  of  the  Z  L 
arcana  of  lunar  observations.     I  think  it  is  a  fact  be- 

great,  m  all  ages  have  been  profound  smokers.     Co- 
umbus,  Hudson  and  Americus  were  all  welcomed 
to  these  shores  by  the  ancient  men  of  the  tr^es 
beanng  he  calumet  of  peace.   Butobserve:  thelong-' 
7Z    If  ""  .«<""">"»ion  with  the  whole  fraternitl 
female      ?r  "«'"-''"°''«-'  -Aether  they  be  malei 
female.    It  was  on  one  of  those  mild,  calm,  clear 
moonhght  „,ghts,  even  as  late  as  the  eighth  ;fD" 
cember,  I  was  sitting  on  my  stoop,  enjoying  the  cheap 
and  sober  luxury  of  the  pipe ;  the  river  la/like  a  fieU 
of  glass  before  me  ;  the  full-orbed  moon  dancing    „ 
the  gentle  npple  of  the  ebbing  tide ;  the  lights  in^the 
many   upper  and  lower  chambe.^  in   Ravenswood 
where,  three  years  ago,  there  stood  only  one  soZry 
n^ansion;  the  laugh  and  the  sound  of  mirth  from  th^ 
vllage  of  Yorkville,  which,  ten  years  ago    wrone 
hard,  uncompromised  rock  of  stone ;  th!  blaze  fZ 
a  thousand  lamps  on  the  Third  Avenue,    tretchW 
trod"tS      "^  "--e'-f  Harfem,  whe;ebu    at  ^ 

casni  of  the  Indian  and  the  warlike  tramp  of  the 
Hess:an  sold.er.    Apropos  :  in  repairing  my  old  farm 
house  at  the  Cove,  we  found  a  canno.-ball  which  hTd 
been  lodged  between  the  clapboards  and  the  lath  and 
plaster.    My  next  neighbor,  now  four-score  and  C 

informs  iTiA  th^t-  u^  i: i  •       ,  ^^'^c  una  cwa, 

13 


1^ 


<v 


'n' 


146 


REMINISCENCES    OF 


occupies,  on  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Flatbush ;  that 
a  party  of  the  retreating  American  army  crossed  at 
Hurlgate  ferry ;  that  a  company  of  the  British  troops 
followed  them  to  the  river,  but  did  not  cross ;  that 
the  Americans  fired  several  shots  from  York  Island 
at  the  British ;  and,  as  the  soldiers  gathered  round 
this  house,  (now  mine,)  it  being  kept  as  a  tavern  at 
that  time,  the  Americans  directed  their  fire  at  the 
house,  which  got  pretty  well  peppered ;  that  he  had 
no  doubt  but  that  that  was  one  of  the  balls,  (I  have  no 
doubt  either;  said  ball  weighs  about  twelve  pounds ; 
I  would  not  take  a  dollar  a  pound  for  it.)    That  niglr. 
the  British  officers  took  up  their  head  quarters  in  ^ri :. 
same  house.    They  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to 
follow  up  their  victory,  as,  from  the  sample  they  had 
seen  through  the  day,  they  thought  they  could  conquer 
the  Americans  at  their  leisure.  They  accordingly  invit- 
ed two  or  three*dozen  of  the  farmers'  daughters  from 
Newtown,  Hallett's-Cove  and  the  Dutch  Hills,  some 
of  whose  fathers  were  tories,  and  went  willingly;  the 
others,  thinking,  as  matters  stood,  that  it  v/as  better 
to  coax  the  devil  than  to  fight  him,  went,  of  course. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  they  kept  up  a  regular  war-dance  with 
the  Dutch  lasses  till  daylight  in  the   morning.    Not 
80  did  Washington.     He  never  slept  in  the  lap  of 
Delilah  when  his  country's  interest  was  at  stake  ;  for, 
before  the  drowsy  Britons  (tired  with  war,  wine  and 
dancing)  had  rubbed  their  heavy  eyelids,  he  was 
mustering  his  ragged  army  in  the  streets  of  Morris- 
town. 


GRANT  THORBITRN. 


147 


>ush ;  ihat 
crossed  at 
:ish  troops 
ross ;  that 
►rk  Island 
•ed  round 
tavern  at 
re  at  the 
at  he  had 
[I  have  no 
3  pounds ; 
rhatnip' 
Brs  in  ■■:  i, ., 

while  to 
they  had 
1  conquer 
iglyinvit- 
itersfrom 
ills,  some 
ngly;  the 
as  better 
f  course. 
ance  with 
ng.  Not 
le  lap  of 
ike;  for, 
ivine  and 

he  was 
'  Morris- 


But  to  return  to  the  lights  on  Hartem  Heights,  &c. 
1  he  night  was  bland  ,  every  thing  spoke  of  life,  peace 
and  security     Thinks  I  to  myself,  how  kind  is  the 
Giver  of  al    good.     He  tempers  the  winds  to  the 
strength  of  the  shorn  lamb.    How  much  this  second 
summer  mitigates  the  pressure.      If  the  times  are 
hard  the  season  is  softer  than  usual.      Banks  and 
saiety-funds  may  evaporate  in  smoke  ;  but  the  bank 
ot  Providence  will  never  suspend  payment  as  long 
as  wood  grows  and  Avater  runs.    By-the-by,  of  the 
season.     The  signs  of  the  times  were  all  in  favor  of  a 
mild  winter.     The  scarcity  of  wild  fruit,  as  acorns, 
&c.  18  a  sign  that  seldom  or  never  fails.     He  that 
hangs  creation  on  his  arm  and  feeds  her  at  his  board, 
when  he  sees  a  long  winter  at  hand,  provides  an  ex- 
tra  store  of  fruit  in  the  woods,  to  supply  the  needs  of 
the  raven,  the  squiirel  and  the  sparrow.     Of  how 
much  more  value,  in  his  sight,  is  .man  than  many 
sparrows  !     Yet  man,  to  whom  he  has  given  reason, 
power  and  faculties  above  the  brutes  that  perish    is 
the  only  animal  in  all  the  creation  of  God  that  acts 
conrtary  to  nature,  reason,  religion  and  commonsense. 
Were  men  in  the  day  of  prosperity  to  look  out  for 
adversity,  in  the  hey-day  of  summer  to  lay  up  for 
winter ,  were  there  no  drunkards  nor  foolish  spend- 
thrift,  our  world  would  soon  lose  the  slanderous  nick- 
name   of  being  miserable.     Were  one-tenth  of  the 
money  that  is  spent  in  buying  and  tuning  piano-fortes 
laid  out  in  knitting-needles,  and  one-fourth  part  of 

the  time  that  is  lost  in  iin<ri:nn-»i,«.~..i.:__  , 

J— o— *a  '■"^  "iacHiue  empioyed 


148 


'  I 


REMINISCENCES   OP 


a  making  atockmgs,  I  verily  believe  the  lalance  of 
trade  would  be  in  our  favor,  and  you  would  not  see 
so  much  splendid  misery  walking  up  Broadway.     I 
do  not  think  you  ever  saw  a  piano  in  the  habitation 
of  the  Friends  nor  did  you  ever  see  any  splendid  mis- 
ery  there      When  I  first  saw  New-York  there  ZL 
only  one  hosiery-store  in  the  city;  it  was  kept  by 
Mr  W.nslow,  at  number  nine  Wall-street;  it  was  a 
small  concern,  the  profits  of  which  were  not  sufficient 
to  keep  soul  and  body  together;  for  the  honest  man 
was  obliged  to  shave  people  with  Castile-soap  and 
ram-water  to  eke  out  a  living.     He  was  a  barber  by 
trade  ;  not  the  sort  of  shavers  with  which  Wall-street 
swarms  at  this  day.     Then,  there  was  not  a  broker 
.n  Wall-street.     Mr.  Winslow  was  an  Englishman  by 
birth   always  neat  and  clean  in  his  clothes  and  person 
—obliging,  too,  and  shaving  his  customers  himself 
with  a  clean  apron,  white  cotton  stockings,  shining 
black  shoes  and  silver  buckles,  black  velvet  small- 
c  othes,  white  muslin  vest,  clean  shirt,  (not  check 
like  those  of  the  hateful  dandies  of  our  day,)  his  few 
scattering  hairs  carefully  gathered  behind  and  tied 
with  a  neat  black  riband,  his  head  powdered,  like 
snow.     In  short,  though  a  barber,  he  was  a  gentle- 
man of  the  old  school;  not  like  the  old,   withered, 
would-be  dandies  of  our  day,  with  a  black-hair  wig 
on  their  head,  and  a  large  bunch  of  whiskers  on  each 
side  of  their  mouth,  as  tvkite  as  the  hind  quarters  of 
a  Kussian  bear  in  the  month  of  December.    Nothing 
to  me  appears  more  hateful ;  it  looks  like  a  flock  of 
oia  siieep  dressed  in  lambs'  wool. 


GRANT   THORBUEN. 


149 


Mr.  Winslow'a  shop  was  in  an  old  frame-buildinff 
next  house  to  the  corner  of  Wall  and  Broad-streets; 
on  the  Broadway  side,  in   Wall-street.      The  first 
house  round  the  corner,  in  Broad-street,  was  an  old 
i^utch  frame-building,   the   gable-end   frontino-   the 
street,  with  five  or  six  steps  to  climb  up  to  the  stoop, 
having  a  broad  board  on  each  side  of  the  door,  form- 
ing  a  comfortable  seat  for  eight  persons.    Here  John 
^abb  kept  an  iron  cage  manufactory,  wherein  to  con- 
Une  tame  birds  in  a  free  country.     It  was  from  this 
stoop  that  general  Hamilton  addressed  the  sovereign 
people,  assembled  in  front  of  the  old  City-hall,  in 
1795  to  consider  on,  dispose  of,  and  discuss  themer- 
Its  of  the  famous  British  treaty,  whose  fate  was  then 
pending  before  Congress.     His  powerful  arguments 
and  eloquent  language  inflamed  their  plebeian  souls  • 
they  cut  short  his  speech,  forced  him  from  the  stoop' 
and  dragged  him  through  the  gutter.     Said  I  to  myl 
self,  and  this  is  all  the  thanks  you  have  got  for  fight- 
ing along  side  of  Washington  for  the  liberty  of  con- 
science  and  the  freedom  of  speech.     It  was  then  pro- 
posed and  carried  by  acclamation,  to  burn  the  treaty, 
bo  the  hod-men  and  cartmen,  the  fish-men  and  clam- 
men,  the  ash-men  and  water-men,  adjourned  to  the 
Bowling-green  and  set  fire  to  the  treaty,  while  the 
Irishmen  beat  the  "  White  Boys^  Marchr  and  the 
i^renchmen  sang  ^^Bansons  la  CarmagnoU:^  A  large 
buttonwood-tree  stood  at  the  corner  of  Broad  and 
Wall-streets  at  that  time.     Not  having  seen  a 
mg  of  the  sovereign  people  in  a  free  country    I 

13* 


was 


150 


REMINISCENCES    OP 


curious  to  mark  how  matters  were  managed.  Ac- 
cordingly I  got  some  one  to  help  me  up  amono-  the 
branches,  where  I  could  see  and  I  out  of  harm's 
way. 

But  to  return  to  the  buttonwood-tree.      I  verily 
believe  it  had  stood  there  since  the  days  of  Gover- 
nour  Von  Twiller.      On  the  opposite  corner,  where 
Burtsell  keeps  his  blank-books,  there  stood  the  only 
watch-house  then  in  New- York.     Next  to  the  watch- 
house,  in  Broad-street,  was  the  residence  of  the  wor- 
thy  and  venerable  Doctor  Anthon.     Lower  down 
dwelt  Conrad  W.  Ham,  who,  for  crackers,  cakes  oly- 
cooken,   was  second  to  none,   (excepting  Nicholas 
Bogart.)     On  the  opposite  side  was  the  house  of  Al- 
derman John  Nitchie.  These  three  were  the  last  of  the 
Mohicans,  and  with  them  may  be  said  to  have  pe-^ 
ished  the  last  ofthe  Dutch  dynasty  in  Broad-street. 
Under  this  tree,  on  a  warm  afternoon  or  evening,  I 
often  listened  to  the  jokes,  tales  and  mirth  of  these 
ancient  neighbors,  as  they  smoked  their  pipes  and 
spoke  of  other  times.     But  this  tree  is  dead,  plucked 
up  by  the  roots,  destroyed  by  the  ruthless  hand  of  im- 
provement.    It  might  have  stood ;  there  was  room 
enough  and  to  spare  on  the  pavement ;  but  they  dug 
a  pit  under  its  roots,  wherein  to  stow  Yankee  rum  and 
Jamaica  spirits.  I  passed  just  as  they  had  turned  up  its 
roots  to  the  sun;  it  was  in  the  month  of  May;  the 
tree  was  in  full  leaf;  there  it  lay,  with  its  beautiful 
branches  wallowing  in  the  gutter.     I  thought  it  was 
adding  insult  to  murder  to  havA  a  troo  /-nf  ^««r«  „«.  «.i,.-- 


I^ed.  Ac- 
mong  the 
j£  harm's 


I  verily 
»f  Gover- 
3r,  where 
the  only 
le  watch- 
the  wor- 
er  down 
akes  oly- 
Nicholas 
se  of  Al- 
astofthe 
ive  pe"^- 
d-street. 
^ening,  I 
of  these 
pes  and 
plucked 
d  of  im- 
is  room 
ley  dug 
um  and 
d  up  its 
ly ;  the 
sautiful 
t  it  was 

!  as.  i.iuS 


GRANT   THOUBURN. 


151 


season  of  the  year ;  so  I  wished  a  curse  on  every 
rum-cask  and  barrel  that  might  supplant  its  place, 
hoping  the  hoops  might  burst  and  the  rum  scald  the 
hearts  of  the  worms  instead  of  the  livers  of  men. 

But  to  return  to  the  syF  om  of  stocking-knitting. 
I  verily  believe  that  if  all  the  women  in  town  and  in 
the  country  were  to  commence  knitting,  before  seven 
months  the  balance  of  trade  would  be  in  our  favor. 
At  present  it  is  sadly  the  reverse  :  bills  on  London 
fifteen  per  cent,  above  par.     Now,  I  think  the  sus- 
pension of  stocking-knitting  lies  deep  at  the  root  of 
this  evil.     In  the  good  old  days  when  Washington 
was  president,  his  iady  was  not  too  proud  to  knit 
stockings  for  her  general.     Then  we  had  only  one 
hosiery-store ;  now  we  have  upwards  of  two  thousand 
stocking-shops.      Then  the  mother  and  girls  knit 
stockings  for  all  the  family  ;  now  it  is  computed  that 
two  millions  of  dollars  are  sent  to   Europe    every 
year  to  clothe  the  feet  and  ancle-bones  of  the  New- 
Yorkers  alone.     This  one  article  is  sufficient  of  itself 
to  kick  both  the  beam  and  the  balance   of  trade  in 
our  faces.     Then  our  flour  went  to  Europe  by  the 
hundred  thousand  barrels  per  annum ;  now  we  beg 
from  the  hungry  Hessian  a  bushel  of  wheat  or  a 
chaldron  of  rye.     You  know  that  whether  they  are 
right  or  wrong,  my  head   and  my  pen  are  always 
ready  to  defend  the  weaker  sex.     I  speak  not  to  their 
blame ;  it  is  that  greatest  of  all  tyrants,  Fashion,  that 
has  driven  industry  from  the  door.     I  wish  them  to 

'  iys  of  unsophisticated  employ- 


i. 


(riiC 


152 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


ment ;  for  they  are  never  happy  (those  dear  sisters) 
except  their  feet,  their  hands,  or  their  tongues  are 
in  motion.  Neither  would  we  see  so  many  gray- 
headed  spinsters  wearing  foreign  hair ;  for  those  cold, 
calculating  bachelors,  who  reckon  every  thing  by  dol- 
lars and  cents,  would  find  it  more  profitable  to  take 
to  themselves  wives  who  could  mend  their  stockings, 
patch  their  coats  and  put  the  apple  in  the  heart  of  a 
dumpling,  than  to  live  in  a  state  of  single  unhappi- 
ness. 

In  those  days  of  which  I  speak,  we  had  few  lawyers, 
for  the  people  lived  in  peace  with  one  another ;  we 
had  few  deaths  by  consumption,  for  the  women  wore 
white  worsted  stockings  in  winter,  instead  of  French 
silk ;  no  foreign  cooks  nor  French  confectioners,  as 
the  eatables  and  drinkables  at  feasts,  marriages  and 
New-years'  rejoicings  were  manufactured  at  home. 


Reminlgcenceg  of  Trinity   Church. 


"The  story  of  thy  better  deeds  engrav'd 
"On  Fame's  unmouldering  pillar." 

The  members  of  the  first  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  first  held  stated  religious  services  in  this 
city  in  a  chapel  erected  in  the  fort,  which  stood  near 
the  present  Battery.  In  this  place,  under  the  Dutch 
administration,  the  service  of  the  church  of  Holland 


GRANT   THORBURN. 


153 


W'  " 


had  been  performed.  On  the  surrender  of  the  co- 
lony to  the  British  in  1664,  the  service  of  the  church 
of  England  was  of  course  introduced.  The  congre- 
gation, however,  increasing,  Trinity  Church  was 
founded  in  1696,  in  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary. 
The  rector,  the  Rev.  William  Vesey,  afterwards  and 
for  many  years  the  commissary  of  the  Bishop  of 
London,  first  performed  divine  service  in  this  church, 
on  the  sixth  of  February,  1697.  It  was  originally  a 
small  square  edifice,  and  was  enlarged  in  the  east 
end  in  1735,  and  again  on  the  north  and  south  sides 
in  1737.  Its  length  was  then,  including  the  tower 
and  chancel,  one  hundred  and  forty-six  feet ;  its 
width  seventy-two  feet,  and  the  steeple  one  hundred 
and  eighty  feet  high.  This  steeple  was  struck  by 
lightning  in  the  summer  of  1762  ;  but  little  damage 

was  done. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  September,  1776,  in  the 
memorable  fire  which  laid  waste  so  great  a  portion 
of  the  city,  this  venerable  and  majestic  edifice  was 
destroyed.  It  lay  in  ruins  during  the  remainder  of 
the  revolutionary  war,  and  was  replaced  by  the 
structure  just  demolished.  This  edifice  was  conse- 
crated by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Provost,  in  1791. 

Trinity  Charch  is  the  parish  church  of  the  parish 
of  that  name,  which  contains  also  St.  Paul's,  erected 
in  1766,  and  St.  John's,  erected  in  1807.  St- 
George's  Church  was  also  formerly  a  chapel.  Trinity 
Parish  is  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  a  rector  and 
fViTAA  nsrtistant  ministers. 


154 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


Notwithstanding  the  antiquity  of  this  parish,  the 
present  rector  is  only  the  eighth  that  has  held  that 
office. 

Among  the  i-ommunion-plate  belonging  to  this 
parish,  are  several  articles  presented  by  William  and 
Mary,  and  Queen  Anne ;  and  others  with  the  initials 
G.  R.,  but  from  which  of  the  first  three  Georges  I 
have  not  learned — probably  some  from  each.  There 
are  also  a  few  articles  from  private  donors,  and 
among  these,  two  plates  presented  by  a  lady  on 
Christmas-day,  1718. 

But  old  Trinity  is  gone !  With  her  and  with  the 
hand-writings  on  her  walls  my  earliest  and  fondest 
associations  are  blended ;  but  she  will  rise  more  glo- 
rious than  before,  an  emblem  of  the  resurrection  of 
thousands  who  worshipped  there,  and  whose  bones 
lie  mouldering  in  her  clay.  From  the  best  informa- 
tion I  am  able  to  obtain,  upwards  of  four  hundred 
thousand  have  been  deposited  in  the  Trinity  church 
burying-ground  since  its  first  erection  in  1697. 

The  following  touching  lines,  cut  from  the  New- 
York  American,  will  make  an  excellent  finish  to  my 
Btory. 

TRINITY   CHURCH. 

Farewell  I  farewell !  they're  falling  fast. 

Pillar,  and  arch,  and  architrave; 
Yon  aged  pile,  to  me  the  last 
Sole  record  of  the  by-gone  past. 

Is  speeding  to  its  grave  : 
And  thoughts  from  memory's  fountain  flow. 


.  ^.^  1... i;i 

••••  u«c     ■'• 


Ku  wedded  hear 


(A 

Each  rude  and  mouldering  stone  departs,) 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


155 


ish,  the 
sld  that 

to  this 
am  and 
initials 
arges  I 
There 
rs,  and 
ady  on 

i^ith  the 
fondest 
Dre  glo- 
ition  of 
bones 
iforma- 
undred 
church 

• 

5  New- 
i  to  my 


Of  boyhood's  happiness  and  wo, — 

Its  sunshine,  and  its  shade  : 
And  though  each  ray  of  early  gladness 
Comes  mingled  with  the  hues  of  sadness, 

I  would  not  bid  them  fade ; 
They  come,  as  come  the  stars  at  night, — 
Like  fountains  gushing  into  light— 
And  close  around  my  heart  they  twine, 
Like  ivy  round  the  mountain-pine ! 
Yes,  they  are  gone— the  sunlight  smiles 
All  day  upon  its  foot-worn  aisles, 
Those  foot- worn  aisles  !  where  oft  have  trod 
The  humble  worshippers  of  God, 
In  times  long  past,  when  Freedom  first 
From  all  the  land  in  glory  burst ! 
The  heroic  few !  from  him  whose  sword 

Was  wielded  in  his  country's  cause, 
To  him  who  battled  with  his  word. 

The  bold  expounder  of  her  laws ! 
And  they  are  gone— gone  like  the  lone 

Forgotten  echoes  of  their  tread ; 
And  from  their  niches  now  are  gone 

The  sculptured  records  of  the  dead ! 
As  now  I  gaze,  my  heart  is  stirrM 

With  music  of  another  sphere ! 
A  low,  swt  jt  chime,  which  once  was  heard, 
Comes  like  the  note  of  some  wild  bird 

Upon  my  listening  ear ; — 
Eecalling  many  a  happy  hour. 
Reviving  many  a  wither'd  flower. 
Whose  bloom  and  beauty  long  have  laid 
"Within  my  sad  heart's  silent  shade : 
Life's  morning  flowers !  that  bud  and  blow, 

And  wither,  ere  the  sun  hath  kiss'd 
The  dew  drops  from  their  breasts  of  snow. 

Or  dried  the  landscape's  veil  of  mist  i 


156 


REMINISCENCES   OP 


Yes  f  when  that  sweetly-mingled  chime 
Stole  on  my  ear  in  boyhood's  time, 
My  glad  heart  drank  the  thrilling  joy. 

Undreaming  of  its  future  pains  ;-- 
As  spell- bound  as  the  Theban  boy 

Listening  to  Memnon's  fabled  strains  ? 
Farewell,  old  fane !  and  though  unsung 

By  bards  thy  many  glories  felly 
Though  babbling  fame  hath  never  rung 

Thy  praises  on  his  echoing  bell-— 
Who  that  hath  seen,  can  e'er  forget 

Thy  gray  old  spire  ?— who  that  hath  knelf 
Within  thy  sacred  aisles,  nor  felt 
Religion's  self  grow  sweet  yet  ? 
Yes  J  though  the  decking  hand  of  Time 

Glory  to  Greece's  fanes  hath  given, 
That,  from  her  old  heroic  clime 

Point  proudly  to  their  native  heaven  } 
Though  Rome  hath  many  a  ruin'd  pile 

To  speak  the  glory  of  her  land, 
And  fair,  by  Egypt's  sacred  Nile, 

Her  mould'ring  monuments  may  stand,— 
The  joy  that  swells  the  gazer's  heart. 
The  pride  that  sparkles  in  his  eye. 
When  pondering  on  these  piles,  where  Art 

In  crumbling  majesty  doth  lie, 
Ne'er  blended  with  them  keener  joy, 
Than  mine,  when  but  a  thoughtless  boy 
i  gazed  with  awe-struck,  wond'ring  eye, 
yn  thy  old  spire,  my  Trinity ! 
And  thou  Shalt  live  like  words  of  truth,-^ 
Like  golden  monuments  of  youth— 
As  on  thelake's  unrippled  breast 
The  mirror'd  mountain  lies  at  rest, 
So  thou  Shalt  lie,  till  life  drnart. 
•^iiri'or'd  for  ages  upon  my  hear* 


GRANT  TUORBURN. 


167 


The  Or*T«  In  the   Orchard. 


"Tke  duat  we  tread  on,  uuce  lived."— Ifarecy. 

It  was  about  five  o'clock  on  a  gray,  co  m,  sober- 
looking  afternoon,  in  the  month  of  Novf    ibti    last 
that  I  I'^'l  been  searching  the  hill  and  the  vaic,  the 
woorn  and  »^ie  meadows,  and  gathering  up  the  roots 
and  he  see      of  some  of  our  beautiful  native  plants, 
whose  Hnwoi's  had  long  since  wasted  their  sweet.' 
on  the  desert  air.     Returning  about  gloaming,  my 
way  led  through  an  orchard  of  venerable  apple  and 
pear  trees,  which,  from  their  mouldering  branches 
and  trunks  crumbling  into  dust,  I  thought  might  date 
their  ago  from  the  day  that  the  first  red  man  turned 
his  back  on  the  east  and  commenced  his  marcl  west- 
ward.   In  all  probability  they  were  planted  by  George 
Jansen  de  Rapelje.     This  Mr.  Rapelje  was  a  French 
Protestant.    He  settled  with  his  f'   nily  in  our  neigh- 
borhood as  early  as  1625.     His  is  said  to  be  the  first 
white  family  that  settled  on  Long  Island,  and  his 
wife's  daughter  the  first  white  child  bom  there.    Be 
this  as  it  may,  from  this  man  sprang  the  whole  gene- 
ration of  men,  women  and  children  known  in  the 
New- York  Directory  till  this  day  by  the  names  of 
Rapalje,  Rapaljo,  Rapelye  and  Rapelje.    Shame  on 
those  who  first  altered  the  spelling  !    Their  ancestor 
was  a  worthy  old  gentleman :  his  sons  should  have 
»vu\;&.  Lu  uic  iCLbCfs  ua   liio  imiiii; }    uui.  luo  ae  io  HOW 

14 


158 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


I 


even  blotted  out  from  the  memory  of  Longworth. 
But  to  return  to  the  orchard.     I  lingered  about  this 
spot   without   knowing   why.     Choice   fruits   were- 
bending  to  my  grasp ;  they  tempted  me  not.     The 
stillness  of  death  was  there.     The  fall  of  a  leaf  and 
the  noise  of  my  own  breathing  alone  sounded  in  my 
ear.     The  feeble  flutter  of  the  birds,  as  one  by  one 
they  sank  to  rest ;  the  long  dead  and  decaying  grass 
bending  its  head  to  the  earth  from  whence  it  so 
lately  sprung;  the  dead  and  the  dying  leaves  be- 
spnnklmg  the   herbs,  themselves   twice   dead   and 
plucked  up  by  the  roots-all  these  made  the  place 
look  like  the  very  land  of  forgetfulness  itself. 

Plodding  my  way  through  this  valley  of  the  shadow 
ot  death,  I  came  to  a  spot  where  the  grass  grew 
more  green,  and  the  stramonium,  the  hemlock  and 
other  noxious  weeds  grew  taller  and  more  rank  thgn 
their  fellows.    While  treading  them  down,  I  observed 
a  number  of  rough  unpolished  stones  standing  about 
six   feet,    from  west  to  east,   as  if  they  had  been 
placed  one  at  the  head  and  the  other  at  the  foot  of  a 
grave.    On  further  search,  I  found  I  was  standing  on 
the   bones   of  those  who  planted  the  trees  whose 
branches  overshadowed  my  head.     There  were  no 
hiHoci:s,  for  time  and  the  pelting  storm  had  levelled 
the  graves  with  the  fallow  ground.     The  stones,  too, 
had  sunk  by  their  own  gravity,  many  of  them  half, 
and  some  of  them  deeper,  in  their  native  soil;  they 
were  rough  as  when  they  came  from  the  bed  of  the 
blasted  rock.    Names  and  dates  there  were  non« 


II 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


159 


Letters  and  words  in  the  Dutch  language  had  been 
put  on  with  white  paint,  but  the  rain  descended  and 
the  winds  blew  on  their  face  for  a  hundred  years, 
till  it  left  not  a  wreck  behind. 

We  have  a  living  oracle  among  our  neighbors — 
an  old  man,  the  deys  of  whose  pilgrimage  have 
numbered  four  score  years  and  ten.  To  him  I  ap- 
plied for  a  record  of  the  dead.  He  remembered  the 
spot  as  being  a  place  of  burial  when  he  was  only 
seven  years  of  c  ;e ;  and  many  a  gloomy  winter 
evening,  when  the  hoar-frost  and  tempest  were 
rustling  among  the  branches,  has  he  approached  the 
place  with  fear  and  trembling ;  for,  said  he,  in  those 
days  witches,  ghosts  and  apparitions  had  not  ceased 
from  out  of  the  land.  He  then  with  the  garrulity  of 
old  age,  ever  fond  of  recounting  the  scenes  of  youth, 
commenced  a  catalogue  of  French,  Indian  and  negro 
murders ;  which,  in  respect  to  the  feelings  of  the 
good  old  man,  I  heard  to  an  end  with  seeming 
patience ;  though  I  must  confess  it  wasted  the  hours 
of  three  sittings.  I  will  give  you  nearly  in  his  own 
words  the  last  of  his  ghost  stories,  as  the  spot  where 
the  persons  were  murdered  is  near  that  where  I  am 
now  writing.  j 

"  The  schools  in  those  days,"  said  the  old  man, 
"  were  few  and  far  between.  The  burying-ground 
lay  in  my  route  to  the  school  I  attended.  One  day, 
in  the  winter  of  1738,  when  I  was  nine  years  old,  I 
was  traversing  this  road,  which  was  then  in  a  bad 
condition.     It  was  quite  dark  when  I  came  to  the 


160 


BEMINISCENCES   OP 


place  of  graves.    I  saw,  or  fancied  I  saw,  sitting  on 

a  new-made  grave,   the  father,  mother  and  three 

children  of  a  neighboring  family,  which  had  been 

murdered  by  their  black  servant  a  few  weeks  before, 

and  all  buried  in  that  same  grave.     The  master  and 

mistress  had  been  kind  to  their  servants,  as  the  Dutch 

everywhere  are  to  this  day.  The  wife  of  the  murderer 

was  cook  and  servant  of  all  work  in  the  family,  and, 

prompted  by  the  devil,  she  had  told  her  husband, 

that  if  he  would  only  kill  the  whole  family,  then  the 

farm  and   every  thing  on  the  place  would  be  his 

own.     Long   and  sorely  was  he  beset  before  she 

brought  him  to  the  point.    He  at  last  accomplished 

the   atrocious  deed  while  his  victims  were  asleen. 

As  he  entered  the   kitchen,  his  wife  asked — 'Are 

they  all  dead]'  *  All  dead  but  Harry.    I  can't  kill 

Harry,'  replied   the   negro.     Now   Harry  was  the 

youngest  child,  a  fine  boy,  about  five  years  old.    He 

had  wound  himself  round  the  afl^ections  of  black  Sam, 

and  they  used  to  go  nutting,  crabbing  and  fishing 

together.     Often   while   Sam   was   working  in  the 

fields,  Harry  would  bring  him  his  dinner  and  his 

mug  of  cider.     *  I  can't  kill  Harry,'  said  he.    *  Fool ! 

Fool !'  exclaimed  his  wife.     *  Then  better  h^d  you 

killed  none  of  them ;  for  now  Harry  will  tell  all, 

and  you  will  be  hanged.' 

"  At  this  suggestion  the  guilty  man  gasped,  and 
stood  like  one  paralyzed.  His  teeth  chattered,  his 
knees  smote  each  other,  and  scarcely  could  he  sustain 
his  shakinor  frame  as  he  leaned  on  the  bloods  isxe 


GRANT   THORBURN. 


161 


which  had  been  the  instrument  of  his  crime.  Re- 
morse for  the  execrable  deed  was  already  gnawing 
at  his  heart-strings ;  and  his  horror  at  the  idea  of 
being  compelled  to  murder  his  favorite  Harry^  his 
little  playmate  and  companion,  the  lightener  of  his 
toils,  was  mors  than  his  iron  limbs  could  support. 

"'Go  up,  you  shivering  coward,  and  finish  the 
job  you  have  begun,'  said  the  female  fiend ;  *  go  up, 
or  I  will  call  the  neighbors  and  have  you  hanged  at 
once.' 

"  Thus  threatened,  the  wretch  completed  his  atro- 
cities by  sacrificing  little  Harry  with  the  rest.  He 
then  walked  forth  into  the  fields  with  the  mark  of 
Cain  on  his  forebear!.  It  was  now  the  break  of  day. 
A  wagon  was  heard  rattling  over  the  road — a  rare 
occurrence  when  neighbors  lived  seven  miles  apart. 
It  stopped  opposite  the  house.  Black  Sam  was  not 
far  distant,  staggering  along,  and  looking  on  the 
ground  like  a  man  who  had  lost  his  wits. 

"  *  Hullo  !  darkie,  what  are  you  looking  at  V  was 
the  salutation  of  the  driver. 

*•  Sam  lifted  his  clumsy  feet  from  the  ground  as  if 
he  had  been  struck  by  a  rifle-ball.  His  face  glear*.ed 
like  the  face  of  a  demon,  and  the  white  of  his  eyes 
expanded  till  it  seemed  like  the  white  circle  on  the 
soldier's  target.  And  well  might  the  poor  wretch 
start  and  shudder,  for  the  terrors  of  a  guilty  con- 
science had  driven  him  from  his  bed,  and  he  was 
haggard  alike  with  remorse  and  with  want  of  sleep. 

"  lue  wagoner  baing   miorraed  itiat  the  family 

14*  ^ 


162 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


.1 


had  not  risen,  drove  from  the  door  and  proceeded  to 
Hallett's  Cove,  a  distance  of  about  a  mile.  All  the 
way  he  could  not  forbear  pondering  upon  the  cause 
of  Black  Sam's  singular  demeanor  and  horrible  looks. 
When  he  arrived  at  the  store  he  sat  down,  but  his 
thoughts  still  turned  to  this  subject,  and  absorbed  his 
attention  and  chained  his  tongue.  A  noise  startled 
him— the  door  opened— and  in  walked  the  wife  of 
Black  Sam,  the  tigress  who  had  first  excited  him  to 
the  sanguinary  deed.  Her  first  exclamation  was— 
*  Oh  dear !  they  have  killed  master  and  missus  and 
the  three  children  with  an  axe,  and  Sam  and  I  have 
alone  escaped.' 

"  The  wagoner  rose,  and  with  the  impulsiveness 
of  a  strong  and  sudden  conviction,  replied,  *  Yes,  you 
black  wretch,  and  you  and  your  husband  are  the 
murderers.' 

"  In  three  minutes  the  guilty  creature,  taken  by 
surprise,  confessed  the  crime.  That  same  wagoner 
carried  her  and  Sam  in  his  cart  to  Hempstead  jail; 
and  before  the  remains  of  the  slaughtered  family 
were  consigned  to  the  grave  in  the  orchard,  the  mise- 
rable  pair  had  met  the  penalty  of  their  crime.  The 
man  was  hung  and  the  woman  burned  to  death." 

Now  this  is  no  fiction,  but  a  simple  tale  of  truth. 
Often  when  the  moon  is  climbing  our  eastern  hills, 
and  the  shadows  of  night  are  closing  around,  do  I 
ramble  to  this  solitary  spot  and  hold  converse  with 
the  spirits  of  the  venerated  dead.  And  why  not  ? 
Why  may  it  not  be  that  thp>ri>  nvA  TniTii'ctoi<,'»< 


»r*«    0-B-* 


^^^. 


'5    a^gCiO 


''■^^J'S 


GRANT  THORBITRN. 


163 


sent  forth  to  shed  a  gracious  influence  around  the 
children  of  men  1  I  have  no  fear  of  the  visits  of 
Buch  disembodied  agents.  I  have  almost  v^rished 
that  one  of  the  long-departed,  whose  bones  are 
mouldering  beneath  my  feet,  would  lift  for  me  the 
veil  and  grant  me  a  glimpse  of  the  mysteries  be- 
hind it. 

But  we  have  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  let  us 
be  thankful  for  what  we  have.  Yet  a  little  while, 
and  the  things  unknown  shall  be  revealed  to  us,  and 
we  shall  be  as  wise  as  those  who  have  gone  before. 


The   I<owell   Offering. 

"  Nor  less  shall  thy  fair  ones  to  glory  ascend, 
"  And  genius  and  beauty  in  harmony  blend : 
"  The  graces  of  form  shall  awake  pure  desire. 
"And  the  charms  of  the  soul  ever  cherish  the  fire." 

A  few  months  since  I  accidentally  picked  up  the 
May  and  June  numbers  of  this  modest  little  one- 
sheet  periodical.  They  were  the  first  I  had  seen  or 
heard  of  them— and  having  "finished  them  at  one 
sitting,"  (as  the  alderman  says,)  I  lit  my  pipe  and 
walked  out  among  the  cherry-trees,  to  ruminate 
upon  what  I  had  read,  as  my  thoughts  are  always 
quickest  when  the  smoke  is  curling  horn  my  v*ipB 
and  no  one  near  me ;  and  while  I  sat  ruminating, 
my  thoughts  ran  ahead  with  the  following  abstract,* 
incoherent,  unconnected  ideas  :    If  one  of  those  fac- 


164 


REMINISCBNCES   OF 


tory  girls  were  to  pass  now,  I  would  give  her  that 
pot,  filled  with  the  lilies  ol'  the  /alley,  for  a  vignette 
to  their  book!    The  lily  of  thh  valley  ^,a3  selected 

by  its  Maker  as  the  eniblem  of  beauty  and  :;aodesty 

when  He  said,  (passing  the  sun-flower,  carnation, 
and  dahlia,)  Behold  the  iily  of  the  valley!  Solo- 
mon in  all  his  glory,  and  tho  queen  of  Sheba  by  his 
side,  with  her  crown,  tinsel,  boTubast  and  gingle, 
was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  tbase  lilies !  So  is  this 
book.  Sixteen  stories  for  May  and  fourteen  for  June ! 
as!  finished — and  told  in  the  beautiful,  modest,  and 
trath  speaking  language  of  nature !  No  French  or 
Latin  disguising  words  which  the  writer  himself  is 
ashamed  of— nothing  but  amusing,  entertaining  and 
instructive  essays  on  matters  and  things,  told  with 
all  the  simplicity  of  truth.  Nothing  short  of  this  could 
be  expected  from  the  factory  girls  of  Lowell ;  for  it's 
a  sound  maxim  of  physiology,  that  thence  is  the  in- 
dex of  the  mind.  I  have  seen  these  girls  in  the  mills 
and  in  their  walks,  and  I  have  seen  hundreds  of  the 
most  fashionable  women,  in  full  dress,  at  assemblies 
and  parties  in  Britain,  but  I  never  saw  so  many  pret- 
ty faces  on  the  same  number  of  women  as  I  have 
seen  at  a  gathering  of  the  factory  girls  in  Lowell. 
Therefore,  one  may  expect  that  the  effusions  of  their 
minds  will  be  equally  beautiful. 

I  wondered  what  a  Turk  (who  says  the  women 
have  no  souls)  would  thir>  were  he  to  read  this 
book.  For  my  own  part,  I  verily  believe  that  there 
is  iiAore  sound  sense  in  hi-  Lowell  Offering  than  you 


GRANT   TIIORBURN. 


165 


will  find  in  the  whole  book  of  the  Alkoran,  or  in  all 
the  ukases  of  the  Bashaws  with  three  tails !  I  won- 
der what  those  Turks  who  infest  the  Astor-house, 
with  beards  as  long  as  a  Russian  bear,  would  say. 
They,  too,  say  the  women  have  no  souls,  and  think 
themselves  the  vfery  lords  of  creation  ;  but  take  any 
of  those  chaps  and  shut  them  up  in  a  room,  with  pen. 
ink  and  paper,  and  let  them  have  nothing  to  eat  or 
drink  till  they  produce  an  essay  equal  to  the  poorest 
of  those  hi  the  Offering,  and  I  really  believe  they 
would  die  with  hunger  before  they  accomplished 
their  task.  And  I  wonder  what  Madam  TroUope  and 
Parson  Fiedler  would  say. 

I  remember  standing  near  one  of  the  factories 
some  years  ago,  and  seeing  the  girls  walk  from  the 
gate  at  dinner-hour,  two  and  two,  like  a  procession, 
with  their  handsome,  happy  faces,  and  clean,  neat 
dresses,  neatly  put  on ;  and  I  wished  that  Madam 
Trollope  and  her  Fiedler  were  there— each  having 
a  score  or  two  of  the  pin  and  factory  girls  from  Lon- 
don, Manchester  and  Birmingham  at  their  backs 

just  by  way  of  contrast.  Whatever  they  might  say,  I 
am  sure  they  would  think  that  New  England  had 
not  degenerated. 

Every  Yankee  ought  to  be  proud  of  this  book,  and 
subscribe  for  it. 


166 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


T»les  of  the  Prison— Suf(ar-liouie—Llberty-itrcet  t 

OR,   ANECDOTES    OF  THE   REVOLUTION. 

•*  Here  many  pine  in  want,  and  dungeon'i  gloom ; 
*'  Shut  from  the  cummon  air,  and  common  use 
••  Of  their  own  limbs."— Thomson. 

When  ages  shall  have  mingled  with  those  which 
have  gone  before  the  flood,  the  spot  on  which  stood 
this  prison  will  bo  sought  for  with  more  than  anti- 
quarian interest.    It  was  founded  in  1689,  and  occu- 
pied as  a  sugar-refining  manufactory  till  1776,  when 
Lord  Howe  converted  it  into  a  place  of  confinement 
for  the  American  prisoners.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
war  for  Independence,  the  business  of  sugar  refining 
was  resumed,  and  continued  till  1839  or  '40,  when 
it  was  levelled  to  the  ground  to  make   way  for  a 
block  of  buildings  wherein  to  stow  Yankee  rum  and 
New  Orleans  molasses.    Pity  it  ever  was  demolished. 
With  reasonable  care  it  might  have  stood  a  thousand 
years,  a  monument  to  all  ge.ierations  of  the  pains, 
penalties,  sufferings  and  deaths  their  fathers  met  in 
procuring  the  blessings  they  now  inherit.    It  stood 
on  the  southeast  corner  and  adjoining  the  graveyard 
around  the  Middle  Dutch  Church,  said  church  being 
now  bounded  by  Liberty,  Nassau  and  Cedar-streets. 
But,  as  it  is  said,  this  church  is  soon  to  become  a 
post-office.    The  levelling  spirit  of  the  day  is  rooting 
up  and  destroying  every  landmark  and  vestige  of  an- 
tiquity about  the  city,  and  it  is  probable  that  in  the 
year  two  uiuusuuu  u«u  Lvvcjiit-j-uiiu    mcxo   mu  iiuu 


GRANT   THORBURW. 


167 


li 


be  found  a  man  in  New- York  who  can  point  out  the 
site  whereon  stood  a  prison  whose  history  is  so  feel- 
ingly connected  with  our  revolutionary  traditions. 

On  the  18th  of  June,  1794,  I  came  to  reside  in 
Liberty-street,  where,  between  Nassau-street  and 
Broadway  I  dwelt  forty  years.  As  the  events  record- 
ed  in  this  history  had  but  recently  transpired,  I  had 
frequent  opportunities  of  seeing  and  conversing  with 
the  men  who  had  been  actors  in  the  scenes.  Some 
of  the  anecdotes  I  heard  from  the  lips  of  Gen.  Alex- 
ander Hamilton,  Gen,  Morgan  Lewis,  Col.  Richard 
Varick,  the  venerable  John  Pintard,  and  other  revo- 
lutionary worthies,  then  in  the  prime  of  life,  but  now 
all  numbered  with  the  dead. 

Till  within  a  few  years  past,  there  stood  in  Liberty- 
street  a  dark  stone  building,  grown  gray  and  rusty 
with  age,  with  small,  deep  windows,  exhibiting  a 
dungeon-like  aspect,  and  transporting  the  memory 
to  scenes  of  former  days,  when  the  revolution  poured 
its  desolating  wavas  over  the  fairest  portion  of  our 
country.  It  was  five  stories  high;  and  each  story  was 
divided  into  two  dreary  apartments,  with  ceilings  so 
low,  and  the  light  from  the  windows  so  dim,  that  a 
stranger  would  readily  take  the  place  for  a  jail.    On 
the  stones  in  the  walls,  and  on  many  of  the  bricks 
under  the  office-windows,  were  still  to  be  seen  initials 
and  ancient  dates,  as  if  done  with  a  penknife  or  nail ; 
this  was  the  work  of  many  of  the  American  prisoners] 
who  adopted  this,    among  other  means,  to  while 

aW/nV  tllOIT*  IxroAlra   o^J    ,»^^ _X*  1 

J  ,„-^,,  TTwv;«.o  aii«  jcttio  ui  luijg  monoiouous  con- 


168 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


\lro!nn5^t.   There  is  a  strong  jail-liko  door  opening 
im  ..i'.erty-street,  and  another  on  the  southeast,  de- 
scending  into  a  dismal  cellar,  scarcely  allowing  the 
mid-day  sun  to  peep  through  its  wmdow-gratmgs. 
When  I  first  saw  this  building-some  fifty  years 
ago-th.  A)  wd.  u  walk,  nearly  broad  enough  for  a 
cart  to  trr.vel  round  it ;  but.  of  late  years,  a  wmg  has 
been  added  to  the  northwest  end,  which  shuts  up 
this  walk,  where,  for  many  long  days  and  nights,  two 
British  or  Hessian    soldiers    walked    their   weary 
rounds,  guarding  the  American  pnBoners.    tor  thir- 
ty  years  after  I  settled  in  Liberty-street  this  house 
waB  often  visited  by  one  and  another  of  those  war- 
worn  veterans-men  of  whom  the  present  political 
worldlings  are  not  worthy,    i  often  heard  them  re- 
peat the  story  of  their  sufferings  nnd  sorrows, 
always  with  grateful  acknowledg  -i^nts  to  Hup  wuo 
guidef^  the  destinie..  ^f  men  as  wcil  as  of  nati.^us_ 
One  morning,  when  returning  from  the  old  t 
market  a'  the  foot  of  Maiden-lane,  I  noticed  two  ol 
those  old  soldier,  in  the  Sugariio  se-yarc^ :  tlioy  had 
only  three  legs  between  them— ono  having  a  wooden 
leg.  I  stopped  a  moment  to  listen  to  their  c  onversa- 
tion,  and  as  they  were  riowly  moving  from  the  yard, 

said  I  ^0  them— 

« G  ntl'    len,   do   e'^her   of  y  >u  remember  this 

build j  .1??  ,,        ,.11, 

"  Aye,  indeed ;  I  shai  never  forget  it,'  replied  he 
of  the  one  leg.    "  For  twelve  months  that  dark  hole, 

°  1—  l»^      lA       Ann   at. 


1„  "U. 


.pointing  to  the  cellar,  '*  waa  my  Oi"j 


liv- 


And  at      ■ 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


169 


)pening 
last,  de- 
ing  the 
^ratings. 
y  years 
gh  for  a 
^ing  has 
ihuts  up 
hts,  two 
:   weary 
F'or  thir- 
lis  house 
ose  war- 
political 
them  re- 

l)WS, 

iim  w-iO 
ti  aS. 
uld  Fl 
)d  twvj>  oi 
tl  y  hL  1 
X  wooden 
!  onversa- 
the  yard, 

nber  this 

eplied  he       ^ 
ark  hole,"      ■ 

\t\/{  at        ■ 


that  door  I  saw  the  corpse  of  my  brother  thrown  into 
the  dead-cart  among  a  heap  of  others  who  had  died 
in  the  night  previous  of  tlic  jail-fever.  While  the 
fever  was  raging,  we  were  let  out  in  con^nanies  of 
twenty,  for  half-an-hour  at  a  time,  to  breathe  the 
fresh  air ;  and  inside  we  were  so  crowded  that  wc 
divided  our  number  into  squads  of  rix  each.  Number 
one  stood  ten  minutes  as  close  U  the  window  as 
they  could  crowd  to  catch  the  cool  air,  and  then  step- 
ped 1  k,  when  number  two  took  their  places ;  and 
so  on.  Seats  we  had  none ;  and  our  beds  were  but 
straw  on  the  floor,  with  vermin  intermix  »3d.  And 
there,"  continued  he,  pointing  with  his  cane  to  a 
brick  in  the  wall,  "  is  my  kill-time  work — *  A.  V.  S. 
1777,'  viz.  Abraham  Van  Sickler — which  I  scratched 
with  an  old  nail.  When  peace  came,  some  learned  the 
fate  of  their  fathers  and  brothers  from  such  initials." 

My  house  being  near  by,  I  asked  them  to  step  in 
and  take  a  bite.  In  answer  to  my  inquiry  as  to  how 
he  lost  his  leg,  he  related  the  following  circumstance  : 

"  In  1777,"  said  he,  "  I  was  quartered  at  Belle- 
ville, N.  J.  with  a  part  of  the  army  under  Col.  Cort- 
laii^^  Gen.  Howe  had  pussession  of  New-York  at 
the  ne  time,  and  we  evs  moment  expected  an 
attack  from  Henry  Clinton.  Delay  made  us  less  vigi- 
lant, an  i  we  were  surprised,  defeated,  and  many 
slain  ndiiade  prisoners.  We  marched  frr  a  Newark, 
crossing  the  Passaick  and  Hackensack  rivers  in  boats. 
Th    road  thrnu    '  the  swamp  was  a  *  corduroy,'  that 

iir 
J 


15 


170 


REMINISCENCES   OP 


[In  September,  1795,  I  travelled  this  road,  and 
found  it  in  the  same  condition.] 

*'  We  were  confined,"  he  continued,  "  in  this  Su- 
gu. -house,  with  hundreds  who  had  entered  before 
us.  At  that  time  the  Brick  Meeting-house,  the  North 
Dutch  Church,  the  Protestant  Church  in  Pine- 
street,  were  used  as  jails  for  the  prisoners ;  while 
the  Scotch  Presbyterian  Church  in  Cedar-street, 
now  a  house  of  merchandise,  "  was  occupied  as  an 
hospital  for  the  Hessian  soldiers,  and  the  Middle 
Dutch  Church  for  a  riding-school  for  their  cavalry. 
I  well  remember  it  was  on  a  Sabbath  morning — as 
if  in  contempt  of  Him  whose  house  they  were  dese- 
crating— that  they  first  commenced  their  riding  ope- 
rations in  said  church.  On  that  same  day  a  vessel 
from  England  arrived,  laden  with  powder,  ball,  and 
other  munitions  of  war.  She  dropped  anchor  in  the 
East  River,  opposite  the  foot  of  Maiden-lane.  The 
weather  was  warm,  and  a  thunder-storm  came  on  in 
the  afternoon.  The  ship  was  struck  by  a  thunder- 
bolt from  heaven.  Not  a  vestige  of  the  crew,  stores, 
or  equipment  was  ever  seen  after  that.  The  good 
whigs  and  Americans,  all  over  the  country,  said  that 
the  God  of  battle  had  pointed  tha^  thunder-bolt. 

"  We  were  crowded  to  excess,"  continued  the  old 
vefteran ;  "  our  provisions  bad,  scanty  and  unwhole- 
some, an,d  the  fever  raged  like  a  pestilence.  For 
many  weeks  the  dead-cart  visited  us  every  morning, 
into  which  from  eight  to  twelve  corpses  were  thrown, 
piled  un  like  sticks  of  wood,  with  the  same  clothes 


GRANT   THORBURN. 


IV  i 


Ihey  had  worn  for  months,  and  in  which  they  had 
died,  and  often  before  the  body  was  cold.    Thus, 
every  day  expecting  death,  I  made  up  my  mind  tci 
escape,  or  die  in  the  attempt.    The  yard  was  sur- 
rounded  by  a  close  board-fence  nine  feet  high.    I  in- 
formed  my  friend  here  of  my  intention,  and  he  readi- 
ly agreed  to  follow  my  plan.    The  day  previous,  we 
placed  an  old  barrel,  which  stood  in  the  yard,  against 
the  fence,  as  if  by  accident.    Seeing  the  barrel  was 
not  removed  the  next  day,  we  resolved  to  make  the 
attempt  that  afternoon.    The  fence  we  intended  to 
scale  was  on  the  side  of  the  yard  nearest  to  the  East 
River;   and  our  intentions  were,  if  we  succeeded  in 
getting  over,  to  make  for  the  river,  seize  the  first 
boat  we  could  find,  and  push  for  Long  Island. 

'•  Two  sentries  walked  around  the  building  day 
and  night,  always  meeting  and  passing  each  other  at 
the  ends  of  the  prison.  They  were  only  about  one 
minute  out  of  sight,  and  during  this  minute  we 
mounted  the  barrel  and  cleared  the  fence.  I  drop- 
ped  upon  a  stone  and  broke  my  leg,  so  that  I  lay 
still  at  the  bottom  of  the  fence  outside.  We  were 
missed  immediately,  and  pursued.  They  stopped  a 
moment  to  examine  my  leg,  and  this  saved  my  friend; 
for  by  the  time  they  reached  the  water's  edge  at  the 
foot  of  Maiden-lane,  he  was  stepping  on  shore  at 
Brookl  -^ri,  and  thus  got  clear.  I  was  carried  into  my 
old  quarters,  and  rather  thrown  than  laid  on  the 
floor,  under  a  shower  of  curses. 

"  Twenty.four  hours  elapsed  ere  I  saw  th 


luc  xjQf^iuv. 


172 


RBMINTSCBNCCS   OF 


l>  i 


My  leg  by  this  time  had  become  so  much  swollen 
that  it  could  not  be  set.  Mortification  immediately 
commenced,  and  amputation  soon  followed.  Thus, 
being  disabled  from  serving  either  friend  or  foe,  I 
was  liberated,  through  the  influence  of  a  distant  re- 
lative, a  royalist.  And  now  I  live  as  I  can,  on  my 
pension,  and  with  the  help  of  my  friends." 

In  1812,  Judge  Schuyler,  of  Belleville,  shelved  me 
a  musket  ball  which  then  lay  imbedded  in  one  of  his 
inside  window-shutters,  which  was  lodged  there  on 
that  fatal  night,  thirty-five  years  previous. 

Among  the  many  who  visited  this  prison  forty 
years  ago,  I  one  day  observed  a  tall,  thin,  but  re- 
spectable-looking gentleman,  on  whose  head  was  a 
cocked-hat — an  article  not  entirely  discarded  in  those 
days — and  a  few  dozen  snow-white  hairs  gathered 
behind  and  tied  with  a  black  ribband.  On  his  arm 
hung — not  a  badge,  or  a  cane,  nor  a  dagger ;  but  a 
handsome  young  lady,  who  I  learned  from  him  was 
his  daughter,  whom  he  had  brought  two  hundred 
miles  to  view  the  place  of  her  father's  sufferings.  He 
walked  erect,  and  had  about  him  something  of  a  mi- 
litary air.  Being  strangers,  I  asked  them  in ;  and  be- 
fore we  parted  I  heard 

THE    HISTORY   OF   THE  PRISONER. 

"  When  the  Americans,"  he  began,  "  had  posses- 
sion of  Fort  Washington,  on  the  North  River — it  be- 
ing the  only  post  they  held  at  that  time  on  York 
Island — I  belonged  to  a  company  of  light  infantry 


GRANT  THOBBURN. 


173 


stationed  there  on  duty.  The  American  army  having 
retreated  from  New- York,  Sir  William  Howe  deter- 
mined to  reduce  that  garrison  to  the  subjection  of 
the  British,  if  possible.  Our  detachment  at  that  time 
was  short  of  provisions,  and  as  General  Washington 
was  at  Fort  Lee,  it  was  a  difficult  matter  to  supply 
ourselves  from  the  distance  without  the  hazard  of  in- 
terception from  the  enemy.  There  lived  on  the  turn- 
pike, within  a  mile  of  our  post,  a  Mr.  J.  B.    This 
man  kept  a  store  well  supplied  with  provisions  and 
groceries,  and  contrived  to  keep  himself  neutral,  sell- 
ing to  both  parties ;  but  he  was  strongly  suspected 
of  favoring  the  British,  by  giving  them  information, 
&c.   Some  of  our  officers  resolved  to  satisfy  them- 
selves ;  and  if  they  found  their  suspicions  just,  they 
thought  it  would  be  no  harm  to  make  a  prize  of  his 
stores,  especially  as  the  troops  were  much  in  need 
of  them.   From  prisoners,  and  clothes  stripped  from 
the  slain,  we  had  always  a  supply  of  British  uniforms 
for  officers  and  privates.    Accordingly  three  of  our 
officers  put  on  the  red  coats  and  walked  to  friend 
B.'s,  where  they  soon  found  that  the  color  of  their 
uniforms  was  a  passport  to  his  best  affections  and 
to  his  best  wines.    As  the  glass  went  round,  his  loyal 
ideas  began  to  sho-t  forth  in  royal  toasts  and  senti- 
ments.   Our  officers  being  now  sure  of  their  man,  I 
was  one  of  a  party  who  went  with  wagons  and  every 
thing  necessary  to  ease  him  of  his  stores.  ' 

"  On  the  following  evening,  that  matters  might 
pass  quietly,  we  nut  on  the  British  uniformp..    Ar. 

15* 


174 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


W 


i  ') 


n 


riving  at  the  house,  we  informed  Mr.  B.  that  the 
army  were  in  want  of  all  his  store,  but  we  had  no 
time  to  make  an  inventory,  being  afraid  we  might 
be  intercepted  by  the  Americans ;  but  he  must  make 
out  his  bill  from  memory,  carry  it  to  the  Commissary 
at  New- York,  and  get  his  pay.  The  landlord  looked 
rather  serious  at  this  wholesale  mode  of  doing  busi- 
ness,  but,  as  the  wagons  were  loading  up,  he  found 
remonstrance  would  be  in  vain.  In  less  than  an  hour 
his  whole  stock  of  eatables  and  drinkables  was  on 
the  road  to  Fort  Washington.    By  the  direction  we 
took,  he  suspected  the  trick,  and  alarmed  the  out- 
posts of  the  British  army.     In  fifteen  minutes  we 
heard  the  sound  of  their  horses'  hoofs  thundering 
along  behind  us;  but  they  were  too  late,  and  we  got 
in  sa^      He  got  his  revenge,  however;  for  in  three 
days  thereafter  our  fortress  was  stormed  by  General 
Kniphausen  on  the   north.  General  Matthews  and 
Lord  Cornwallis  on  the  east,  and  Lords  Percy  and 
Sterling  on  the  south.    So  fierce  and  successful  was 
the  attack,  that  twenty-seven  hundred  of  us  were 
taken  prisoners,  and  numbers  of  them,  with  myself, 
marched  to  New- York,  and  lodged  in  the  Crown- 
street  [now  Liberty-street]  Sugar-house. 

"  It  is  impossible,"  he  continued,  "  to  describe  the 
horrors  of  that  prison.  It  was  like  a  healthy  man  be- 
ing tied  to  a  putrid  carcass.  I  -ade  several  attempts 
to  escape,  but  always  failed,  and  at  last  began  to 
yield  to  despair.  I  caught  the  jail-fever,  and  was 
nigh  unto  death.   At  this  time  I  became  acquainted 


i{ 


(rRANT  THORBUHN. 


175 


with  a  young  man  among  the  prisoners,  the  wretch- 
edness of  whose  lot  tended  by  compprison  to  alle- 
viate my  own.    He  was  brave,  intelligent  and  kind. 
Many  a  long  and  weary  night  he  sat  by  the  side  of 
my  bed  of  straw,  consoling  my  sorrows  and  beguil- 
ing the  dreary  hours  with  his  interesting  history.  He 
was  the  only  child  of  his  wealthy  and  doting  parents, 
and  had  received  a  liberal  education;  but  despite  of 
their  cries  and  tears  he  ran  to  the  help  of  his  coun- 
try  against  the  mighty.  He  had  never  heard  from  his 
parents  since  the  day  he  left  their  roof.    They  lay 
near  to  his  heart,  but  there  was  one  whose  image 
was  graven  there  as  with  the  point  of  a  diamond. 
He,  too,  had  the  fever  in  his  turn ;  and  I  then,  as 
much  as  in  me  lay,  paid  back  to  him  my  debt  of  gra- 
titude. •  My  friend,'  he  would  say  to  me,  '  if  you  sur- 
vive this  deadly  hole,  promise  me  you  will  go  to  the 

town  of  H .    Tell  my  parents,  and  Eliza,  I  pe* 

rished  here  a  captive,  breathing  the  most  fervent 
prayers  for  their  happiness.'  1  tried  to  cheer  him 
by  hope,  feeble  as  it  was.  '  Tell  me  not,'  he  would 
add,  ♦  of  the  hopes  of  reunion ;  there  is  ^nly  one 
world  where  the  ties  of  affection  will  never  break  ; 
and  there,  through  the  merits  of  Him  who  was  taken 
from  prison  into  judgme..t,  for  our  sins,  I  hope  to 
meet  them.' 

"  This  crisis  over,  he  began  to  revive,  and  in  a  few 
days  was  able  to  walk,  by  leaning  on  my  arm.  We 
were  standing  by  one  of  the  narrow  windows,  inhal- 
ing the  fresh  air.  on  a  certain  dav    wi,««  „,^  ^-^:^j 


(i 


176 


REMINISCENCES   Of 


a  young  woman  trying  to  gain  admittance.  After 
parleying  for  some  time,  and  placing  something  in 
the  hand  of  the  sentinel,  she  was  permitted  to  enter 
this  dreary  abode.  She  was  like  an  angel  among 
the  dead.  After  gazing  eagerly  around  for  a  mo- 
ment, she  flew  to  the  arms  of  her  recognized  lover, 
pale  and  altered  as  he  was.  It  was  Eliza.  The  scene 
was  affecting  in  the  extreme.  And  while  they  wept, 
clasped  in  each  others  arms,  the  prisoners  within, 
and  even  the  iron-hearted  Hessian  at  the  door,  caught 
the  infection.  She  told  him  she  received  his  letter, 
and  informed  his  parents  of  its  contents ;  but  not 
knowing  how  to  return  an  answer  with  safety,  she 
had  travelled  through  perils  by  land  and  water  to 
see  her  Henry. 

**  This  same  Hessian  sentinel  had  served  us  our 
rations  for  months  past,  and  from  long  intimacy  with 
the  prisoners  was  almost  considered  a  friend.  Eliza, 
who  made  her  home  with  a  relative  in  the  city,  was 
daily  admitted,  by  the  management  of  this  kind- 
hearted  man ;  and  the  small  nourishing  notions  she 
brought  in  her  pockets,  together  with  the  light  of  her 
countenance,  which  caused  his  to  brighten  whenever 
she  appeared,  wrought  a  cure  as  if  by  miracle.  His 
parents  arrived,  but  were  not  admitted  inside-  In  h. 
few  days  thereafter,  however,  by  the  help  of  an  ounce 
or  two  of  gold  and  the  good  feelings  of  our  Hessian 
friend,  a  plan  was  concerted  for  meeting  them.  His 
turn  of  duty  was  from  twelve  till  two  o'clock  that 
night.   The  signal,  which  was  to  lock  and  unlock  a 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


177 


certain  door  twice,  being  given,  Henry  and  myself 
slipped  out,  and  crept  on  our  hands  and  knees  along 
the  back  wall  of  the  Middle  Dutch  Church,  meeting 
the  parents  and  Eliza  by  the  Scotch  Church  in  Cedar- 
street.  As  quick  as  thought,  we  were  on  board  a 
boat,  with  two  men  and  four  oars,  on  the  North  River. 
Henry  pulled  for  love,  I  for  life,  and  the  men  for  a 
purse ;  so  that  in  thirty  minutes  after  leaving  the 
Sugar-house  we  stood  on  Jersey  shore. 

"  In  less  than  a  month  Eliza  was  rewarded  for  all 
her  trials  with  the  heart  and  hand  of  Henry.  They 
now  live  not  far  from  Elizabethtown,  comfortable  and 
happy,  with  a  flock  of  olive-plants  around  their  table. 
I  spent  a  day  and  night  at  their  house  last  week,  re- 
counting our  past  sorrows  and  present  joys." 

Thus  the  old  man  concluded ;  simply  adding  that 
•he  himself  now  enjoyed  a  full  share  of  earthly  bless- 
ings, with  a  grateful  heart  to  the  Giver  of  all  good. 

Now,  friend  Mackay,  should  you  think  these 
sketches  will  amu>ie  your  readers,  they  are  at  your 
service.  I  have  moro  of  them,  which  I  may  give  you 
at  a  more  convenient  season. 

It  is  well  to  snatch  from  oblivion  a  spot  so  inte- 
resting in  revolutionary  tradition  as  was  the  Sugar- 
house  prison  in  Liberty-street.  Within  fifty  feet  to 
the  eastward  of  the  Middle  Dutch  Church,  is  the 
a|.  >t;  on  which  stood  this  bastile,  into  which  many 
entered,  but  from  whence  few  returned.  The  bell 
which  now  calls  you  to  church  is  the  same  by  which 
those  prisoners  took  their  note  of  time.  Many,  very 


if 


%■ 


178 


KEMINISCENCES   OF 


many,  counted  twelve  as  they  lay  on  their  bed  of 
straw.  It  was  the  knell  of  their  departing  hour.  Be- 
fore the  bell  again  tolled  for  one  they  had  gone  to 
happier  climes. 

P.  S.  Since  writing  the  above  the  religious  ser- 
vices in  this  church  have  come  to  a  final  close,  and  it 
has  been  fitted  up  for  a  Post-office.  From  the  thick- 
ness of  the  walls,  and  the  durable  nature  of  the  stone 
with  which  they  are  built,  under  the  fostering  care 
of  the  government  the  building  may  yet  stand  many 
centuries,  as  a  landmark,  wherein  the  English  caval- 
ry kept  a  riding-school,  and  within  fifty  feet  of  which 
once  stood  the  Sugar-house  prison  of  revolutionary 
memory. 


lietter  of  the  Barons  and  People  of  Scotland  to  the  Pope, 

13)90. 


"If bleak  and  barren  Scotia's  hilli  arise, 

"  Vet  peaceful  art  the  vales  and  pure  the  skies, 

"And  freedom  fires  the  soul  and  sparkles  in  the  eyes." 


-»^. 


In  January,  1834,  I  was  shown  the  interior  of 
the  Register  Office,  Edinburgh  ;  among  many  very 
ancient  and  important  national  state  papers,  I  saw 
there  the  original  of  a  remonstrance  from  the  nobles, 
earls,  barons,  &c.  of  the  Scottish  community  to  the 
Pope,  dr';ed  6th  April,  1320.  It  contained  the  sig- 
nature of  each  person  whose]  name  is  in  the  instru- 


GEANT   THORBURN. 


179 


Ir  bed  of 
our.  Be- 
l  gone  to 

fious  ser- 
ie,  and  it 
he  thick- 
tlie  stone 
ring  care 
nd  many 
ish  caval- 
of  which 
lutionary 


he  Popei 


eyes." 

erior  of 
my  very 
s,  I  saw 
i  nobles, 
:y  to  tho 
the  sig- 
B  instru- 


ment, with  his  seal  appended  to  each  signature  with 
a  piece  of  riband;   it  is  written  in  Latin,  in  a  clear, 
plain  hand,  on  a  sheet  of  parchment,  and  is  now  514 
years  old.   It  appears  that  King  Edward  of  England, 
finding  it  impossible   to  conquer  Scotland  by  the 
sword,    applied   to   the   Pope,    (this  same  Edward 
must  have  been  just  such   another  poor  milk-and- 
water-soul  as  the  late   King  of  Spain,  whom,   the 
papers  inform  us,  spent  all  his  time  in  doing  nothing 
but  sewing  petticoats,)  who  issued  his  bull,  com- 
manding all  the  people  in  Scotland  to  submit  to  the 
authority  of  Edward,  under  pain  of  excommunication, 
and  that  he  would  raise  on  them  the  French,  the  Ger- 
mans, the  Danes,  Swedes,  English  and  Irish,  and 
sweep  them  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  send 

'h:^m  all  to  by  the  wholesale.    The   Scotch- 

i/j-n,  in  no  way  alarmed,  coolly  replied  in  substance, 
that  as  long  as  there  were  three  hundred  men  in  Scot- 
land whv)  could  wa^,  3  a  sword  over  therr  head,  they 
would  neit'ie<  8ub'«.iit  to  Edward,  to  the  pope,  nor 
to  the  devil.  '  s  &  trait  in  the  national  character  of 
the  Scots,  that  even  in  the  darkest  times  of  popery 
the  priests  could  never  lead  them  so  far  by  the  nose 
as  they  did  their  more  pliable  neighbors,  the  French, 
Germans,  English,  Irish,  dec.  in  their  last  twenty- 
eight  years'  struggle  with  the  Stewarts  to  keep  out 
Episcopacy.     (You  will  observe  that  Episcopacy  in 

England  and  America  are  entirely  different  articles 

no  lords  spiritual  here.)     They  gained    for  their 

to  be  found,  except  in  America. 


180 


H 


H. 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


Through  the  politeness  of  one  of  the  gentlemen  in 
the  office,  I  had  it  translated  by  one  of  the  best 
Latin  scholars  in  Edinburgh.  Its  age  and  authen'ti- 
city,  with  the  simplicity  of  its  style,  make  it  alto- 
gether a  historical  curiosity. 

A  free  translation  of  a  copy  of  the  Letter  of  the  Barons, 
Earls,  Freemen,  and  of  the  Scottish  Community,  to  the  Pope, 
6th  April,  1320.  *  * 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Most  Holy  Father,  Christ  and 
Lord,  we,  the  undersigned,  (do  hereby  declare  our- 
selves to  be,)  by  God's  providence,  the  humble  ser- 
vants and  children  of  lord  John  the  high  priest,  and 
minister  of  sacred  things  at  Rome,  and  of  the  Uni- 
versal  Church. 

(Here  follow  the  names  of  the  Barons,  Earls, 
Freemen,  and  many  of  the  community  of  the  king- 
dom  of  Scotland.) 

"  Not  only,  oh  most  holy  Father,  do  we  know  the 
filial  respect  with  which  devotees  kiss  the  feet  of 
Saints,  but  we  also  gather,  both  from  the  deeds  and 
books  of  the  ancients,  that  our  nation,  to  wit,  that  of 
Scotland,  has  been  illustrious  for  many  great  ex- 
ploits. (Our  nation)  coming  into  Scythia  Major, 
passed  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  and  coming  through 
Spain,  resided  for  many  years  among  very  savage 
nations,  and  who  were  in  subjection  to  no  man. 
Then,  after  a  lapse  of  twelve  hundred  years,  they 
came  (like  the  Israelites  in  their  passage)  and  dwelt 
m  those  habitations  now  nossessed  bv  the  p.Yil#»fi 


GRANT   XnORBURlV. 


181 


ntlemen  in 
r  the  best 
i  authenti- 
ke  it  alto- 


the  Barons, 
to  the  Pope, 

Christ  and 
3clare  our- 
iimble  ser- 
priest,  and 
f  the  Uni- 
ons, Earls, 
the  king- 
know  the 
le  feet  of 
deeds  and 
nt,  that  of 
gpeat  ex- 
ia  Major, 
g  through 
ry  savage 
no  man. 
jars,  they 
md  dwelt 


1A      curt 


^^A 


Britons  and  Picts,  who  are  nevertheless  nearly  de- 
8t.-,  ed  by  the  fierce  engagements  which  they  have 
had  with  the  Norwegians,  Dacians  and  English,  by 
which  they  have  acquired  many  victories  and  toils, 
and  have  showed  that  their  children  were  free  from 
^11   slavery  from  their  forefathers.     Thus  far  does 
history  bear  on  us.     In  this  kingdom  they  had  one 
hundred  and  thirty  kings  of  their  own,  of  the  royal 
blood  and  no  foreigner  taking  possession.     But  He, 
by  whom  nobles  reign  and  others  shine  with  great 
effulgence,  even  the  King  of  kings,  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  appointed  by  his  most  holy  faith,  after  his 
passion  and  resurrection,  that  they  should  dwell  in 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,  as  if  they  had  been 
the    first  inhabitants.     Nor  did  he  wish  that  they 
should  be  confirmed  in  their  faith  by  any  one  but 
by  their  first  Apostle,  although  second,  or  even  third 
m  rank,  to  wit,  our  most  gracious  Andrew  the  Ger- 
man whom  He  always  wished  to  preside  over  them 
as  their  patron,  instead  of  St.  Peter.     But  your  fore- 
lathers  and  most  holy  predecessors,  thinking   anx- 
lously  that  that  kingdom  (of  Germany,  to  wit)  be- 
longed  by  special  right  to  St.  Peter,  sanctioned  the 
same  by  many  favors  and  innumerable  privileges. 
Wherefore  our  nation  had  thus  far  led  a  quiet  and 
peaceable  life  under  their  protection ;  till  that  great 
prince,  Edward  king  of  the  English,  and  father  of 
him  who  IS  hostilely  (and  yet  under  the  appearance 
of  a  friend  and  an  ally)  infesting  our  (peaceful)  bul- 


kincrrlr\m     onA     -^^^-^l—       •  «  .  _ 

— ,,.„..,„   „„^i   i.-cwL.-it7-   cunscious  ot   neither 


16 


[M 


;  I 


182 


REMINISCENCES    OP 


If 


guilo  nor  mischief,  and   an-ccustomed  to  wars  and 
insults,  (at  least  at  that  Umt       Edward  (whon.  we 
have  mentioned  above)  rommUted  damages,  carnage 
and  wrongs,  plunder  bt  1  incendiarism,  has  incar- 
cerated  the  prelates,  burned  the   ieligioas  monas- 
tones,  spoilii-  them  as  he  laid  th«  .n  in  ruins;  anu 
havmg  committed  other  em  rm<.  s  grievances,  and 
among   the    rest,    has   among  me  common   people 
spared    neither   age    nor    sex,    religion    nop  rank. 
No  pen  is  capable  of  writing   noi  is  the  imderstanu- 
mg  capable  of  comprehending,  i.ei^^er      n  experi- 
ence  teach    (to  the   full  amount)  the  ainumerable 
evils  m  which  he  delights  :  but  yet  we  ire  delivered 
by  our  most  vahant  prince,  king  aad   ord,  Robert, 
Who,  after  he  was  cured  and  healed  of  his  wounds, 
has,  like  another  Maccabaus  or  Joshua,  freed  his 
people  from  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  and  has  suf- 
fered labor.!,  toils  and  troubles,  and  dangers,  even 
bordering  to  death.     He  also  has  a  benign  dispo- 
sition,  and  is  obedient  to  the  laws  and  customs,  which 
we  will  sustain  even  to  death.     The  succession  of 
the  law,  and  the  debt  which  we  were  all  due,  made 
us  assent  and  agree  that  he  should  be  our  chief  and 
king,   as   being  the  person   through   whom   safety 
accrues  to  the  people,  and  who  is  the  defender  of 
our  liberty,    alike  by  his  kindness  and  by  dint  of 
force,  and  to  whom  we  wish  to  adhere  in  every  thing, 
and  desist  from  undertakings  with  the  English  king 
and  subjects,  who,  forsooth,  wish  that  we  and  our 
kingdom  be  subject  to  them,  and  that  we  should  in- 


wars  and 
vhoh.  wo 
},  carnage 
las  incar- 
8  monas- 
tins ;   an* 
ices,  and 
1  people 
OP   rank, 
lerstanu- 
n  experi- 
imerable 
lelivered 
,  Robert, 
wounds, 
reed  his 

has  suf- 
Jrs,  even 
n  dispo- 
8,  which 
ssion  of 
e,  made 
hief  and 
I  safety 
jnder  of 

dint  of 
1  thing, 
ish  king 
md  our 
ould  iTi- 


OlANT 


JRBUBN. 


183 


stanr  -  dethrone  our  kiug,  as  the  subversor  alike  of 
their  and  our  rights,  and  that  we  should  choose 
another  who  is  capable  of  our  defence :  but  we  de- 
clare that,  as  long  as  a  hundred  Scotsmen  can  be 
any  where  fourd  to  stand  together,  the  English  will 
never  be  our  master  for  we  do  not  fight  for  riches, 
glory  nor  honor,  y  for  that  liberty  which  no 

map    loses   exce  )e  accompanied    by  his  life. 

Hence  it  is,  oh  re     .end  Father  and  Lord  !  that  we 
entreat  your  holiness,  with  all  manner  of  supplica- 
lion,  instance  and  bending  of  hearts  and  knees,  and 
that  we  have  thus  far  recited  the  vicissitudes  of  our 
nation,  whose  sojourning  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth  have  neither  been  a  grievance  upon  grievance, 
nor  an  honor.    Jews  and  Greeks,  Scotch  or  English, 
who  look  with  a  father's  eye  at  the  troubles  and 
trials  brought  upon  us  and  the  Church  of  God  by 
the  English,  will  see  that  the  English  king  ought  to 
be  sufficed  with   what  he  possesses,  and  will  look 
back  to  the  time  when  England  was  wont  to  be 
pleased  with  seven  kings  to  warn  and  rebuke  those 
who  required  it.     But  there  now  remains  nothing 
for  us  Scotsmen,  living  as  we  do  in  exiled  Scotland, 
beyond  waich  there  is  no  habitation,  there  is  nothing 
but  for  Edward  to  depart  in  peace,  seeing  that  we 
desire  it ;  for  it  concerns  him  with  respect  to  you, 
to  grant,  and  it  is  our  desire  effectually  to  procure, 
the  peace  of  the  state,  whatever  way  we  can.     O 
holy  Father!  we  beg  you  to  grant  this— you  who 
lookest  at  the  ^        «  -  -         • 


^-•«v,ii^    vrt    paj^aiio,     Willi 


"""  the  existing 


.>i 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


■"  1U    12.2 


US 

u 


14.0 


2.0 


U    III  1.6 


6" 


/l 


>*. 


/^ 


7 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


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184 


REMINISCENCES  OP 


f 


faults  of  christians,  and  the  servitude  of  christians. 
»ot  iessemng  the  memory  of  your  holiness,  though 
your  empire  is  bounded  by  the  Indies.    If  ^ytX 

ot  the  English.)  behold  the  ignominy  and  renroach 

this  Thl'd't^  T"""" ""'°"  "  "•«'«'  y--^- 

lol    t    '        '\  '^'  ""'  ^^  ""  '""^"'"^  to  arouse 
some   christian   chiefr,   who  make  no  pretext  and 

rhr„ir°"^  ^t  t  "•"  ^'^^  -« -  --^' 

selvesTnf.      K^'l^  *^^^  ^'"'"''^  »»'  frame  then*. 
llnT    r  '',  '""'y  *"■  "^«  P^tection  of  the  Holy 

th^v  tlink'  > "  "''  ''''"^^  "'  *'«  P-'--  -    that 
Aey  hmk  It  requires  less  exertion  to  carry  o^  war 

with  their  less  powerful  neighbors.    But  if  the  En^ 

lish  king  leave  us  in  peace,  we  also  will  go  and  die 

m  the  Holy  Land,  if  such  be  the  will  of  our  lord  and 

sovereign.    But  the  English  king  knows  enough  not 

he  Vicar  of  Christ,  and  to  the  whole  christian  world, 
that  If  your  holiness  do  not  deal  justly  between  them 
and  us.  confusion  will  inevitably  take  place-the 
destruction  of  our  bodies-tho  exit  of  our  souls- 
^nd  the  other  inconvenient  consequences  which  will 
follow  and  which  we  believe  they  have  imputed  to 
us.  and  which  we  have  done  to  them.  From  what 
we  are  and  will  be.  as  well  from  the  obedience  with 
which  we,  as  your  children,  keep  our  tenets,  as  from 
the  good  feeling' which  exists  between  us  and  you 
our  head  and  judge,  we  trust  our  cause  will  be 
looked  after,  thinking  and  hoping  firmly  that  v„„ 


GRANT   THORBURN. 


185 


instians, 
,  though 
ny  thing 
haracter 
eproach 
c  times ; 
)  arouse 
QXt  and 
ar  with 
B  them'- 
e  Holy 
is,  that 
on  war 
le  Eng- 
^nd  die 
>rcl  and 
igh  not 
jlare  to 
world, 
n  them 
56 — the 
souls — 
ch  will 
Jted  to 
n  what 
;e  with 
ts  from 
id  you, 
i^ill  be 
at  vnii 


will  deal  rightly  with  us,  and  will  reduce  our  ene- 
mies to  nothing,  and  will  preserve  the  safety  of 
your  holiness,  who  hast  been  this  good  while  the 
head  of  this  holy  church.  This  was  dated  at  the 
monastery  of  Aberbrothoc,  in  Scotland,  6th  April, 
1320,  and  in  the  1.5th  year  of  our  kingdom,  under 
our  king  above  mentioned." 


Margaret  and  tbe  Minister,  and  Lady  Jane. 

TWO  SCOTCH  STORIES,  NOT  FOUNDED  ON,  BUT  ALL  FACT. 

"The  dinner  comes,  and  down  they  •itj— 

"  Were  e'er  such  hungry  folk  ? 
"There's  little  talking,  and  no  wit; 

*'It  is  no  tiibe  to  joke." 

I  spent  a  month  in  London  in  1833.  During  this 
period  I  was  engaged  every  night,  Sundays  except- 
ed,  to  some  club,  society,  conversazione,  or  dinner 
party.  Among  the  latter,  from  the  peer  ro  the  peas- 
ant.   On  one  occasion  I  dined  at  Lord  B 's.   There 

were  twelve  at  the  table,  and  six  servants  in  splendid 
uniform  to  wait  upon  them.  I  put  on  my  best  black, 
and  went  in  a  carriage  to  this  important  affair.  I 
had  got  a  few  glimpses  at  high  life  previous  to  this, 
80  that  I  felt  some  confidence  in  myself.  The  mis- 
tress of  the  feast  sat  at  the  head  of  the  table,  and  on 
her  right  sat  a  young  lady,  a  Miss  C ,  at  the  right 

0£  whom  I  WAR  at>tttc^A     txrl^il^  *l,^    -.IJ ..    J r.  /. 

16» 


186 


KEAimiSCENCES   OF 


ii 


i  1 


the  family,  a  fine  young  lady  of  seventeen,  sat  at  my 
right  hand.     So  I  sat  between  the  twa.     When  I  look- 
ed at  the  servants,  with  their  powdered  heads  and 
clothes  of  scarlet— at  the  vessels  of  gold  and  silver 
jars  of  China  and  platters  of  glass— at  the  lords  and 
ladies,  the  sirs  and  counts-at  the  room,  the  seats 
sofas,  ottomans  and  footstools  which  far  outshone 
what  I  had  read  of  Eastern  luxury  and  splendor,  and 
whose  gas-lamps  and  chandeliers  sent  forth  a  blaze 
more  brilliant  than  their  winter  sun— I  thought  'his 
was  rather  going  ahead  of  anything  of  the  sort  I  had 
ever  seen,  and  was  afraid  I  might  make  some  blun- 
der;  however,  I  was  resolved  to  maintain  my  confi- 
dence and  make  myself  perfectly  at  home,  like  my 
worthy  countryman.  Sir  Andrew  Wyie,  at  a  ball  given 
by  the  Duchess  of  Dashingwell,  in  the  next  square  to 
the  one  m  which  I  was  then  partaking  of  London  hos- 

pitdity.    I  soon  found  that  Miss  C w-^s  a  social, 

intelligent  mortal,  and  felt  myself  at  home  at  once 
"Miss,"  said  I,  " I  have  been  at  some  fine  parties 
in  Edinburgh,  Glasgow  and  Liverpool,  but  this  is 
carrying  the  joke  a  little  beyond  anything  I  have  before 
seen,.  I  am  afraid  I  may  go  wrong,  as  I  am  somewhat 
like  the  old  woman  in  Scotland,  who  went  to  dine  with 
themimster ;  so,  ifl  blunder,  you  must  help  me  along." 
lo  this  she  readily  consented.  "  But  what  of  the 
old  lady  m  Scotland  V*  said  she. 

**  I  have  heard  my  father,"  I  replied,  «  relate  the 
story  some  fifty  years  ago.  It  happened  in  the  parish 
where  he  lives."  ^ 


GRANT   THORBURN. 


187 


She  was  much  surprised  to  hear  that  he,  my  father, 
then  lived,  in  his  ninety-first  year. 

*•  On  a  certain  market  day,"  I  continued,  "  Marga- 
ret, the  wife  of  a  neighboring  farmer—in  addition  to 
her  load  of  hens,  geese,  &c.— brought  a  small  basket 
of  oggs  as  a  present  to  the  minister.  Having  sold 
off  her  load  of  sundries,  she  wends  her  way  to  the 
parsonage.     After  inquiring  how  he,  the  wife,  and 

aw  the  bairns  did,  she  says 

"  *  I  hue  brought  ye  twa  or  three  fresh  eggs  for  the 
gude  wife,  to  help  in  making  her  youl  bannocks: 
(Christmas  cakes.) 

"  The  eggs  were  kindly  Tec&cid,  and  it  being  din- 
ner hour,  she  was  invited  to  stop  and  take  her  kaU, 
(soup.) 

"  *  Nay,  nay,'  sa^,  a  Margaret,  '  I  dinna  km  hu  to 
behaVe  at  great  folks'  tables.' 

"  *  Oh,  never  mind,'  said  the  minister.  *  Just  do  as 
ye  see  me  do.' 

"  Margaret  was  finally  persuaded,  and  sat  down  at 
the  table.     It  so  happened  that  the  minister  was  old 
and  well  stricken  with  age,  and  had,  with  all,  received 
a  stroke  of  the  palsy,  so  that,  in  conveying  the  spoon 
from  the  dish  to  his  lips,  the  arm  being  unsteady,  the 
soup  was  apt  to  spill ;  therefore,  to  prevent  damage 
befalling  his  clothes,  it  was  his  custom  to  fasten  one 
end  of  the  table-cloth  to  the  top  of  his  waistcoat, 
just  under  his  chin.    Margaret,  who  sat  at  the  oppo- 
site corner  of  the  table,  watching  his  motions,  pinned 
the  other  end  of  the  table-cloth  to  a  fltrnT»cr  k„«,- 


188 


BEMINISCENCES    OF 


Irl 

n 


tt  I 


?! 


'  1 1 


I 


shawl,  linder  her  chin.     She  was  attentive  to  every 
move.     The  minister  deposited  a  quantity  of  mustard 
on  the  edge  of  his  plate,  and  Margaret,  not  observinff 
thiB/ugal  exactly,  carried  the  spoon  to  her  mouth. 
The  mustard  soon  began  to  operate  on  the  olfactory 
nerve.     She  had  never  seen  mustard  before,  and  did 
not  know  what  it  meant.    She  thought  she  was  be- 
witched.     To  expectorate  on  the  carpet  wad  be  a  sin 
She  was  almost  crazy  with  pain.     Just  at  this  mo- 
ment  the  girl  coming  in  with  clean  plates,  opened 
the  door  near  where  Margaret  sat.     Margaret  at  once 
sprang  for  the  door,  upset  the  girl,  plates  and  all,  and 
fiweptthe  table  of  all  its  contents,  the  crash  of  which 
lidded  speed  to  her  flight.     Making  two  steps-  at  once 
m  descendmg  the  stairs,  the  minister,  being  fast  at  the 
other  end  of  the  table-cloth,  was  compelled  to  follow 
as  fast  as  his  tottering  limbs  could  move.     He  held  to 
the  banisters  until  the  pins  gave  way,  when  away 
flew  Margaret,  who  never  again  darkened  the  minis- 
ter  s  door." 

Mi88  B-_  startled  the  company  with  a  loud  laueh 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  story.  Having  explained  the 
cause  of  her  m.rth,  I  was  asked  to  repeat  the  story 
for  the  good  of  the  whole,  and  the  laugh  which  fol- 
lowed its  repetition,  I  dare  say,  did  them  more  good 
than  their  sumptuous  dinner. 

Most  of  the  gentlemen  were  conversing  about  a 
contested  election  on  foot  at  that  time  As  the 
ladies  near  me  however,  paid  no  attention  to  that 
subject,  and  I  having  no  interest  in  the  matter,  we 


OUANT  THOBBITRN.  189 

had  our  own  conversation  among  ourselves.  MissC- 
remarked,  that  since  she  had  read  Sir  Walter  she 
was  ahve  to  every  thing  Scotch ;  and  asked  if  I  would 

the !:::/:; "°''"  '""='  ^'°'^- '  *«"  ""•^  "er 

LADY  JANE. 

_^  The  earl  of  Wigton,  whose  name  figures  in  the 
Scottish  annals  during  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  had 
three  daughters,  named  Lady  Frances,  Lady  Grizel, 
and  Lady  Jane;  the  latter  being  the  youngest  by 
several  years,  and  by  many  degrees  the  most  beauti- 
,  •    ";"  '.'?^  ""■««  "^"»"y  resided  with  their  mother, 
af  the  family-seat  in  Sterlingshire ;  but  the  two  eldest 
were  occasionally  permitted  to  attend  their  father  in 
Edmburgh,  in  order  that  they  might  have  a  chance 
of  obtaining  lovers  at  the  court  held  there  by  the 
Duke  of  Lauderdale;  while  Lady  Jane  was  kept 
constantly  at  home,  and  debarred  from  the  society  of 
the  capital,   est  her  superior  beauty  might  interfere 
with  and  foil  the  attractions  of  her  sisters,  who.  ac 
cording  to  the  notions  of  that  age,  had  a  sort  of  right 
of  primogeniture  in  matrimony,  as  well  as  in  what 
was  called  heirship.    It  may  easily  be  imagined  that 
Lady  Jane  spent  no  very  pleasant  life,  shut  up,  as  it 
were,  in  a  splendid  palace,  to  be  sure,  but  having  no 
company  except  her  old  cross  mother  and  the  serv^'ts. 
the  palace  being  in  a  remote  part  of  the  country 
Besides,  she  was  so  very  beautiful  her  parents  were 
a^raiu  tua;  any  gentleman  should  see  her,  and  so  take 


190 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


the  shine  off  her  two  eldest  sisters,  who  were  rather 
homely-looking  articles,  and  older  by  eight  or  ten 
years.     Jane  was  now  in  her  seventeenth  year. 

At  the  period  when  our  history  opens,  Lady  Jane's 
charmis,  although  never  seen  in  Edinburgh,  had  be- 
gun to  make  some  noise  there.  A  young  gentleman, 
one  day  passing  the  garden,  espied  what  he  termed 
an  angel  picking  strawberries.  After  gazing  till 
he  saw  her  retreat  under  the  guns  of  her  father's 
castle,  he  inquired  among  the  cottagers,  and  learned 
it  was  Jane,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Lord  Wigton. 
He  rode  on  and  reported  the  matter  in  the  capital. 
The  young  gallants  about  the  court  were  taken  by 
surprise.  Lord  Wigton  and  his  two  daughters  made 
quite  a  swell  in  Edinburgh  at  this  time ;  but  no  one 
ever  heard  of  Lord  Wigton  having  a  third  daughter. 
These  reports  induced  Lord  Wigton  to  confine  het 
ladyship  even  more  strictly  than  heretofore,  lest 
perchance  some  gallant  might  make  a  pilgrimage  to 
his  country-seat,  in  order  to  steal  a  glimpse  of  his 
beautiful  daughter ;  he  even  sent  an  express  to  his 
wife,  directing  her  to  have  Jane  confined  to  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  house  and  garden,  and  also  to  be  at- 
tended by  a  trusty  female  servant.  The  consequence 
was,  that  the  young  lady  complained  most  piteously 
to  her  mother  of  the  tedium  and  listlessness  of  her 
life,  and  wished  with  all  her  heart  that  she  was  as 
ugly,  as  old,  and  happy  as  her  sisters. 

Lord  Wigton  was  not  insensible  to  the  cruelty  of 
*ii3  pOiicy,  iiowe ver  well  ho  might  be  convinced  of  its 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


191 


)  was  as 


:ea  oi  lis 


necessity.  He  loved  this  beautiful  daughter  more 
than  either  of  the  others,  and  it  was  only  in  obedi- 
ence to  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  commands  of 
duty  that  he  subjected  her  to  this  restraint ;  his  lord- 
ship therefore  felt  anxious  to  alleviate,  in  some  mea- 
sure, the  disagreement  of  her  solitary  confinement, 
and  knowing  her  to  be  fond  of  music,  he  sent  her  by 
a  messenger  a  theorbo,  with  which  he  thought  she 
would  be  able  to  amuse  herself  in  a  way  very  much 
to  her  mind ;  not  considering  that,  as  she  could  not 
play  upon  the  instrument,  it  would  be  little  better  to 
her  than  an  unme.aning  toy.  By  the  return  of  the 
messenger  she  sent  a  very  affectionate  letter  to  her 
father,  thanking  him  for  the  instrument,  but  remind- 
ing him  of  the  oversight,  and  begged  him  to  send 
some  person  who  could  teach  her  to  play  upon  it. 

The  gentry  of  Scotland  at  that  period  were  in 
the  habit  of  engaging  private  teachers  in  their  fami- 
lies.    They  were  generally  young  men  of  tolerable 
education,  who  had  visited  the  continent.    A  few  v.  vs 
after  the  receipt  of  his  daughter's  letter,  it  so  hap- 
pened that  he  was  applied  to  by  one  of  those  useful 
personages,  wishing  employment.     He  was  a  tall, 
handsome  youth,  apparently  about  twenty-five  years 
of  age.     After  several  questions,  his  lordship  was 
satisfied  that  he  was  just  the  person  he  was  in  quest 
of;  as,  in  addition  to  many  other  accomplishments, 
he  was  particulariy  well  qualified  to  teach  the  the- 
orbo, and  had  no  objection  to  enter  the  service,  with 
the  proviso  that  he  was  to  be  spared  the  disgrace  of 


192 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


wearing  the  family  livery.  The  next  day  saw  Rich^ 
ard  (his  name  was  Richard  Livingston)  on  the  road 
to  Wigton  palace,  bearing  a  letter  from  Lord  Wigton 
to  his  daughter  Jane,  setting  forth  the  qualities  of  the 
young  man,  and  hoping  she  would  now  be  better  con- 
tented  with  her  present  residence. 

It  was  Lady  Jane's  practice  every  day  to  take  a 
walk,  prescribed  by  her  father,  in  the  garden,  on 
which  occasions  the  countess  conceived  herself  acting 
up  to  the  letter  of  her  husband's  commands  when 
she  ordered  Richard  to  attend  his  pupil.  This  ar- 
rangement was  exceedingly  agreeable  to  Lady  Jane, 
as  they  sometimes  took  out  the  theorbo  and  added 
music  to  the  other  pleasures  of  the  walk. 

However,   to  make  a  long  story  short,  it  would 
have  been  a  new  problem  in  nature  could  these  youncr 
people  have  escaped  from  falling  in   lore.      They 
were  constantly  together ;  no  company  frequented 
the  house  J  the  mother  was  old  and  infirm,  and  per- 
fectly satisfied  when  she  knew  Lady  Jane  was  within 
the  limits  prescribed  by  her  father.     Lady  Jane  was 
now  in  her  eighteenth  year,  and  probably  never  had 
Been,  and  certainly  never  conversed  with  any  man 
having  the  education  and  polish  of  a  gentleman. 
Although  Richard  had  not  yet  told  his  tale  of  love  his 
genteel  deportment,  handsome  person,  and  certain 
sorts  of  attention  which  love  only  can  dictate,  had 
won  her  heart  before  she  knew  it;  her  only  fear  now 
was  that  she  might  betray  herself;  and  the  more  she 
admired,  thp  more  reserved  she  became  towards  him. 


LwRicfi- 
he  road 
Wigton 
58  of  the 
ter  con- 
take  a 
den,  on 
f  acting 
s  when 
rhis  ar- 
!y  Jj^ne, 
i  added 

would 
5  young 
They 
[uented 
tid  per- 
1  within 
ne  was 
^er  had 
ly  man 
tleman. 
)ve,  his 
certain 
e,  had 
arnow 
)re  she 
ds  him. 


GRANT  THORBUEN. 


193 


As  for  Richard,  it  was  no  wonder  that  he  should  be 
deeply  smitten  with  the  charms  of  his  mistress ;  for 
ever,  as  he  stole  a  long  furtive  glance  at  her  graceful 
form,  he  thought  he  had  never  seen,  in  Spain  or  Italy 
any  such  specimens  of  female  loveliness ;  and  the 
admiration  with  which  she  knew  he  beheld  her,  hia 
musical  accomplishments  which  had  given  her  so  much 
pleasure,  all  conspired  to  render  him  precious  in  her 
sight.     The  habit  of  contemplating  her  lover  every 
day,  and  that  in  the  dignified  character  of  an  instructor, 
gradually  blinded  her  to  his  humble  quality,  and  to 
the  probable  sentiments  of  her  father  and  the  world 
upon  the  subject  of  her  passion ;  besides,  she  often 
thought  that  Richard  was  not  what  he  seemed  to  be ! 
She  had  heard  of  Lord  Belhaven,  who,  in  the  period 
immediately  preceding,  had  taken  refuge  from  the  fury 
of  Cromwell  in  the  service  of  the  English  nobleman 
whose  daughter's  heart  he  had  won  under  the  hum- 
ble disguise  of  a  gardener,  and  whom,  on  the  recur- 
rence of  better  times,  he  carried  home  to  Scotland  as 
his  lady. 

Things  continued  in  tiiis  way  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  summer  without  the  lovers  coming  to  an 
eclaircissement,  when  the  Earl  of  Home,  a  gay  young 
nobleman,  hearing  of  the  beauty  of  Lady  Jane,  left 
Edinburgh  and  took  the  way  to  Lord  Wigton's  pal- 
ace, resolving  first  to  see,  then  to  love,  and  finally  to 
run  away  with  the  young  lady.  He  skulked  about  for 
several  days,  and  at  last  got  a  sight  of  the  hidden 
beauty  over  the  garden  wall,  ^  she  was  talking  with 

17 


194 


BKMiMisciMC£s  or 


1 1 


Richard.    He  thought  he  had  never  seen  a  lady  so 
beautiful  before,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  resolved 
to  make  her  his  own.     He  watched  next  day,  and 
meeting  Richard  on  the  outside  of  the  premises,  pro- 
posed by  a  bribe  to  secure  his  services  in  procuring 
him  an  interview  with  Lady  Jane.    Richard  prompt- 
ly rejected  the  offer,  but  upon  a  second  thought  saw 
fit  to  accept  it.    On  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day 
he  was  to  meet  Lord  Home,  and  report  progress. 
With  this  they  parted — Richard  to  muse  on  this  un- 
expected circumstance,  which  he  saw  would  blast  all 
his  hopes  unless  he  should  resolve  upon  prompt  mea- 
sures ;  and  the  Earl  to  the  humble  village  inn,  where 
he  had  for  the  last  few  days  acted  the  character  of 
"  the  daft  ladfrae  Edinburgh,  wha  seemed  to  hd'e  mair 
siller  than  sense." 

What  passed  between  Jane  and  Richard  that  after- 
noon and  evening  my  informant  does  not  say ;  early 
the  next  morning,  however,  Richard  might  have  been 
seen  jogging  swiftly  along  the  road  to  Edinburgh, 
mounted  on  a  stout  nag,  with  the  fair  Lady  Jane  com- 
fortably seated  on  a  pillion  behind  him.  It  was  mar- 
ket day  in  Edinburgh,  and  the  lanes  and  streets,  on 
entering  the  city,  were  crowded  with  carts,  &c.  so 
that  they  were  compelled  to  slacken  their  pace,  and 
were  thus  exposed  to  the  scrutinizing  gaze  of  the 
inhabitants. 

•     Both  had  endeavored  to  disguise  every  thing  re- 
markable in  their  appearance,  so  far  as  dress  and 


TVb;   SU3  Ai>aVS.j    VUlU-V  ■UViAiV. 


ORANT  THORBURN. 


195 


not  conceal  her  extraordinary  beauty,  and  Richard  had 
not  found  it  possible  to  part  with  a  sly  and  dearly  be- 
loved  mustache,  it  naturally  followed  that  they  were 
honored  with  a  great  deal  of  staring,  and  many  an 
urchin  upon  the  street  threw  up  his  arms  as  they 
passed  along,  exclaiming,  '*Ohi  the  black  bearded 
man!"  or  "Oh  the  bonnie  ladie !"  The  men  all 
admired  Lady  Jane,  the  women  Richard.  The  lovers 
had  thus  to  run  a  sort  of  gauntlet  of  admiration  till 
they  reached  the  house  of  a  friend,  when  the  minis- 
ter being  sent  for,  in  a  few  minutes  Richard  and  Lady 
Jane  were  united  in  the  holy  bands  of  matrimony. 

In  Scotland,  the  promise  of  the  man  and  woman 
before  witnesses  constitutes  a  lawful  marriage. 

When  the  ceremony  was  concluded,  and  the  cler- 
gyman and  witnesse  ssatisfied  and  dismissed,  the 
lovers  left  the  house,  with  the  design  of  walking  in  to 
the  city.  Lady  Jane  had  heard  much  from  her  sisters 
in  praise  of  Edinburgh,  but  had  never  seen  that  gude 
toon  until  that  day.  In  conformity  with  a  previous 
arrangement.  Lady  Jane  walked  first,  like  a  lady  of 
honor,  and  Richard  followed  close  behind,  with  the 
dress  and  deportment  of  a  servant;  her  ladyship  was 
dressed  in  her  finest  suit,  and  adorned  with  her  finest 
jewels,  all  which  she  had  brought  with  her  on  pur- 
pose in  a  small  bundle,  which  she  bore  on  her  lap  as 
she  rode  behind  Richard.  Her  step  was  light  and 
her  bearing  gay.  As  she  moved  along  the  crowd  in 
the  streets  gave  way  on  both  sides,  and  wherever  she 

ration  and  confusion. 


196 


BEMINISCENCE8   OF 


It  80  happened  that  on  this  day  the  Parliament  of 
Scotland  was  going  to  adjourn,  a  day  on  which  there 
■was  always  a  general  turn  out  among  the  gentry,  and 
a  grand  procession.  Hichard  and  his  lady  now  directed 
their  steps  to  the  Parliament  Square.  Here  all  was 
bustle  and  magnificence ;  dukes  and  lords,  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  all  in  the  most  splendid  attire,  threading 
their  way  among  the  motley  crowd.  Some  smart, 
well-dressed  gentlemen  were  arranging  their  cloaks 
and  swords  by  the  passage-way  which  had  given  entry 
to  Richard  and  Jane,  most  of  whom,  at  the  sight  of 
our  heroine,  stood  still  in  admiration;  one  of  them, 
however,  with  the  trained  assurance  of  a  rake,  ob- 
serving her  to  be  very  beautiful,  and  a  stranger,  with 
only  one  attendant,  accosted  her  in  language  which 
made  her  blush  aad  tremble.  Richard's  brow  red- 
dened with  anger  as  he  commanded  the  offender  to 
leave  the  lady  alone. 

** And  who  are  you,  my  brave  fellow?"  said  the 
youth,  with  bold  assurance. 

"Sirrah !"  exclaimed  Richard,  forgetting  his  livery, 
"  I  am  that  lady's  husband — her  servant,  I  mean — ;" 
and  here  he  stopped  short  in  confusion. 

"Admirable!"  exclaimed  the  intruder.  "Ha,  ha, 
ha !  Here,  sirs,  is  a  lady's  lackey  who  does  not  know 
whether  he  is  his  mistress's  servant  or  husband.  Let 
U»  give  him  up  to  the  tovni  guard." 

So  sayiag  he  attempted  to  push  Richard  aaide  and 
take  hold  of  the  lady;  but  he  had  not  time  to  touch 
her  garments  with  even  a  finger  before  her  protector 


I 


ORANT  THORBURN. 


197 


had  a  rapier  gleaming  before  his  eyes,  and  threatening 
him  with  instant  death  if  he  laid  a  hand  upon  his  mis- 
tress. At  sight  of  the  steel,  the  bold  youth  stepped 
back,  drew  his  sword,  and  was  preparing  to  fight 
when  a  crowd  collected.  His  Majesty's  representative 
was  at  this  moment  stepping  out  of  the  Parliament- 
House,  who  ordered  the  officer  of  his  guard  to  bring 
the  parties  before  him.  This  order  obeyed,  he  in- 
quired the  reason  of  this  disgraceful  occurrence. 

•'  Why,  here  is  a  fellow,  ny  lord,"  answered  the 
youth  who  had  insulted  the  lady,  **  who  says  ho  is  the 
husband  of  a  lady  whom  he  attends  as  a  liveryman, 
and  a  lady  too,  the  bonniest,  I  dare  say,  that  has  been 
seen  in  Scotland  since  the  days  of  Queen  Magdaline." 

"And  what  matters  it  to  you,"  said  the  officer,  "in 
what  relation  this  man  stands  to  his  lady  ?  Let  the 
parties  come  forward  and  tell  their  own  story." 

The  lords  in  attendance  were  now  gathering  around, 
all  eager  to  see  the  bonnie  lady.  Lord  Wigton  was  in 
the  number.  When  he  saw  his  daughter  in  this  unex- 
pected place,  he  was  so  astounded  that  he  came  near  to 
fainting  and  falling  from  his  horse.  It  was  some  minutes 
before  he  could  speak,  and  his  first  ejaculation  was — 

"OJane!  Jane!  whB.t*a  thiB  ye^ve  been  aboot?  and 
what's  brocht  ye  here  1" 

•'  Oh  Heaven  Tia'e  a  care  o'  us !"  exclaimed  another 
venerable  peer  at  this  juncture,  who  had  just  como 
up,  "  and  what's  brocht  my  sonsie  son  Richard  Liv- 
ingston to  Edinburgh,  when  he  should  have  been  fecht. 
—  if 

en  the  Dutch  in  Pennsylvania]" 

17* 


r 


198 


ESBIINISCENCES   OF 


And  here  suffer  me  to  remark,  that  this  same  Rich- 
ard Livingston  (a  progenitor  of  the  respectable  fami- 
lies who  bear  his  name  in  this  State)  was  the  second 
son  of  Robert,  Earl  of  Linlithgow.  Of  course,  having 
nothing  to  depend  on  but  his  bead  and  his  sword, 
he  had  joined  a  regiment  under  orders  for  America; 
but  hearing  the  fame  of  Jane's  beauty,  by  bribing  a 
servant  who  concealed  him  in  the  garden,  got  sight  of 
her  as  she  was  watering  her  pots  of  Primrose  and 
Polyanthus.  He  immediately  left  the  army  and  as- 
sumed the  disguise  by  which  he  insinuated  himself 
into  the  good  graces  of  her  father. 

The  two  lovers  being  thus  recognized  by  both  their 
parents,  stood,  with  downcast  eyes,  perfectly  silent, 
while  all  was  buzz  and  confusion  around  them;  for 
those  concerned  were  not  more  surprised  at  the  as- 
pect of  their  affairs  than  were  all  the  rest  at  the  beauty 
of  the  far-famed  but  hitherto  unseen  Lady  Jane 
Fleming.  The  Earl  of  Linlithgow,  Richard's  father, 
was  the  first  to  speak  aloud;  and  this  he  did  in  a 
laconic  though  important  query,  which  he  couched 
in  the  simple  words — 

"Are  you  married,  hairnsV* 

*•  1  es,  dearest  father,"  said  his  son,  gathering  cou- 
rage and  going  up  close  to  his  saddle-bow,  "and  I 
beseech  you  to  extricate  us  from  this  crowd,  and  I 
"will  tell  you  all  when  we  are  alone.'* 

"A  pretty  man  ye  are,  truly,"  said  his  father,  "to 
be  staying  at  home  and  getting  married,  when  you 
should  have  been  abroad  winning  honors  and  wealth, 


GRANT  THORBURIf. 


199 


as  your  gallant  grand-uncle  did  with  Gustavus,  king 
of  Sweden.  However,  since  better  may  na*  be,  I 
maun  try  and  console  my  Lord  Wigton,  who  I  doot 
not  has  the  warst  o'  the  bargain,  ye  ne*er-do-weel !" 

He  then  went  up  to  Lady  Jane's  father  and  shaking 
him  by  the  hand,  said — 

"  Though  we  have  been  made  relatives  against  our 
will,  yet  I  hope  we  may  continue  good  friends.  The 
young  folks,"  he  continued,  "are  not  ill  matched 
either.  At  any  rat^,  my  lord,  let  us  put  a  good  face 
on  the  matter  before  these  gentle  folks.  I'll  get  horses 
for  the  two,  and  they'll  join  the  procession ;  and  the 
de^il  ha*e  me  if  Lady  Jane  dis  na  outshine  the  hale  6' 
them" 

"My  Lord  Linlithgow,"  responded  the  graver  and 
more  implacable  Earl  Wigton,  '*  it  may  suit  you  to 
take  this  matter  blithely,  but  let  me  tell  you  it's  a 
much  more  serious  affair  for  me.  What  think  ye 
am  I  to  do  with  Kate  and  Grizzy  now]" 

"  Hoot  toot,  my  lord,"  said  Linlithgow,  with  a  smile, 
**  their  chances  are  as  gudc  as  ever,  i>assure  you,  and 
aae  will  everybody  think  who  kens  them." 

The  cavalcade  soon  reached  the  court-yard  of  Holy- 
rood-House,  where  the  duke  and  duchess  invited  the 
company  to  a  ball,  which  they  designed  to  give  that 
evening  in  the  hall  of  the  palace.  When  the  com- 
pany dispersed,  Lords  Linlithgow  and  Wigton  took 
their  young  friends  under  their  own  protection,  and 
after  a  little  explanation,  both  parties  were  reconciled. 

The  report  of  Lady  Jane's  singular  marriage  having 


200 


BEMINISCBNCSS   OF 


now  spread  abroad,  the  walk  from  the  gate  to  the 
palace  was  lined  with  noblemen  an  hour  before  the 
time  for  assembling,  all  anxious  to  see  Lady  Jane. 
At  length  the  object  of  all  their  anxiety  and  attention 
came  tripping  along,  hand  in  hand  with  her  father-in- 
law.    A  buzz  of  admiration  was  heard  around;  and 
when  they  entered  the  ball-room,  the  duke  and  duchess 
arose  and  gave  them  a  welcome,  hoping  they  would 
often  adorn  the  circle  at  Holyrood-palace.    In  a  short 
time  the  dancing  commenced,  and  amid  all  the  ladies 
who  exhibited  their  charms  and  magnificent  attire  in 
that  captivating  exercise,  none  was,  either  in  person  or 
dress,  half  so  brilliant  as  Lady  Jane. 

Let  me  add  in  conclusion,  that  this  story  is  a  histori- 
cal fact,  confiimed  by  tradition.  It  occurred  within 
SIX  miles  of  my  birth-place.  I  have  heard  my  grand- 
father,  whodiedat  the  age  of  ninety-six,  and  my  father, 
who  died  in  his  ninety-third  year,  each  relate  it  m  an 
undisputed  fact. 

The  posterity  of  Jane  and  Richard  occupy  the  same 
lands  and  palaoes  at  the  present  day.  It  is  a  name 
revered  and  held  in  high  estimation  all  over  Scotland, 
and  I  might  add,  wherever  the  name  is  known  Wit- 
ness the  venerable  Chancellor  Livingston,  who  admin- 
istered  the  oath  of  office  to  Washington,  the  first  and 
best  of  Presidents,  and  who  cheered  the  heart  and 
strengthened  the  hands  of  Fulton  by  his  counsel  and 
money,  till  through  their  united  exertions  the  first 
steamboat  furrowed  the  waters  of  the  Hudson.  Co- 
temporary  with  him  was  Rev.  Dr.  Livingston,  of  New- 


GRANT  THOHBUaW. 


201 


York,  whose  praise  is  in  all  the  churches.  It  is  a  name 
(If  my  memory  of  the  last  fifty  years  serves  me)  that 
never  was  sullied  by  any  of  the  political  rascality 
which  has  kept  our  State  in  a  Hew  ever  since  1797. 
About  that  period  Brokholst,  Peter  R.  and  a  few 
more  of  the  Livingstons,  arjayed  themselves  under 
the  Tammany  flag;  but  finding  they  must  associate 
with  Burr,  &c.  &c.  &c.  they  left  their  ranks  while  yet 
their  garments  were  clean  and  their  honor  unstained. 
These  men  are  the  lineal  descendants  of  Richard  and 
Lany  Jane,  the  heroes  of  our  tale.  Some  of  the  fami- 
ly fled  from  Scotland  at  the  time  of  the  persecution  • 
and  from  Holland  they  emigrated  to  this  State,  and 
settled  on  "Livingston's  Manor." 


Clirlstinas  and    New   Year's  Day. 

"Bid  the  morn  of  youth 
"Rise  to  new  light,  and  beam  afresh  the  days 
"  Of  innoceuce,  simplicity  and  truth." 

This  day,  fifty  years  ago,  I  first  saw  the  Christmas 
sun  gild  the  steeple  of  old  Trinity.  On  each  return 
of  the  day,  I  have  lived  over  again,  in  memory,  the 
pleasures  in  which  I  that  day  participated.  I  am  not 
going  to  write  a  funeral  tale,  because  all  whom  I 
then  knew,  of  my  own  age,  are  slumbering  in  the 
tomb—the^r  spirits  returned  to  Him  who  gave  them. 
God  i§  Lovs.    Solomoii  says  (and  he  was  the  wisest 


02 


^ 


*EMINI8CBNCES   OF 


king  that  ever  lived,  not  even  excepting  King  John 

the  sad.  This  being  the  case,  why  should  men  brood 
commually  upon  the  dark  side  of  the  cloudTfor  as 

will  tollow.  The  press,  .the  pulpit  and  the  bar  re 
sound  with  the  bugbear  of  "  «Lr«W.  «,„r W  .-  Thev 
are  a  set  of  miserable  fools  that  say  so.  We  could 
not  m  d  the  world,  even  if. ekne^  how  Lhai' 
tul  man  is  a  happy  man ;  and  we  have  always  reason 
^  be  thankful.  When  you  break  your  armf  yr^re 
glad  It  was  not  your  leg;  when  you  break  ^our  lee 

temporal  blessings,  a  sober  man-no  matter  how 
poor-ought  to  be  thankful  that  he  don't  get  drunk 
Bu  rrdt  '•""f°^r"'-  ^-ingor  receiving  pSll 

thankful  that  his  lot  is  cast  in  this  plentiful  country  • 
for  even  though  he  may  not  have  risen  higher  thl^a 
jounieyman,  if  he  has  a  wife  who  is  a  good  manager! 
h^  a  good  temper  and  is  a  good  cook,  (and  I  co^uli 

N  t  Y  ,l?r""'  T""  "''"''  amongihe  lasses  in 
New-York  )  he  may  live  as  sumptuously  every  day 
as  do  the  httle  princes  in  Germany  who  live  7n  the 
sweat  a„d  blood  of  their  white  slav'es.    B^Zisl 

nlfye  "L"  f^V^  °""'"  "^"^  ^''"«""«'.  'hough 
not  yet  so  far  off  the  road ;  for  Christmas  would  be 

a  poor  concern  without  a  goo.,e,  or  New  Year  with- 

out  a  turkey ;  for  even  in  the  hard  times  of  '35,  '36 

and    37,  when   friend    Andrew  Jackson   spnine  a 


GSAKT   THORBURN. 


203 


mine  on  the  Banks,  Bonds  and  Currency,  we  could 
buy  a  turkey  for  fifty  cents,  and  a  goose  for  thirty- 
seven  cents.    But  to  return  to  Christmas,  1794. 

The  morning  was  calm,  mild,  and  bland,  as  in  the 
month  of  May.  In  my  mind's  eye,  I  yet  see  every 
scene  as  they  were  shifting  on  that  pleasant  day. 
My  young  friend  asked  me  to  accompany  her  to  the 
Methodist  Chapel  in  John-street.  I  loved  to  follow 
where  she  led.  I  coul^  give  you  the  hymn  and  the 
text,  if  necessary.  I  see  the  preacher  as  he  stood  in 
the  pulpit,  and  fancy  I  hear  his  voice. 

At  the  corner  of  Nassau-street  and  M^iiden-lane, 
in  a  one-and-a-half  story  wooden  shell,  lived  Alexan- 
der Cuthill.  His  business  was  to  clothe  the  naked ; 
but  his  chief  hobby  (for  every  man  has  his  hobby) 
consisted  in  a  large  thermometer.  Wishing  to  know 
the  state  of  the  weather,  we  stepped  in.  His  mer- 
cury indicated  fifty-nine.  His  window  was  open  on 
the  street  along  which  the  people  were  crowding  to 
the  Middle  Dutch  Church.  The  bell  was  tolling 
half  past  ten,  and  at  this  moment  a  large  blue  fly,  a 
common  harbinger  of  summer,  came  buzzing  in  at 
the  window.  I  mention  this  to  let  you  see  that, 
although  we  had  no  steam-boats  in  those  days,  yet 
we  had  such  Christmas  days  as  we  have  not  seen 
since. 

But  apropos  of  Mr.  Cuthill :  he  was  a  man  of 
notions,  but  bis  grand  lever  was  the  thermometer. 
By  than  he  would  have  moved  the  world,  provided 
he  could  have  fouud  a  nlanet  whArAon  tn  H-r  )tU 


204 


aEMINlSClNCBS   OF 


t 


Jnachine.     He  nevAr  ua  *u 

reasons  that  the  yelLtv  ""^.'''''^''ff  'he  twelve 
when  I  w«s  <>Clf:7jllTr''f'  •""  '"  '822. 
comprised  all  that  pa  t  of  th"'  ^'''"'"-  ^h'<=h 

"treet,  fro„..ri,:  rw:';  ;rr°"''i'''i'''«''y- 

Health  put  up  a  board  f^e  ^tZ  uJT'  "' 
of  drawmg  a  line  between  fh»  T   •  ^  '  "^^  '^"X 

-J  also  set  a  watch  by  nS-'aT/r'  "^  '^«»''' 
any  one  from  venturin7on  li      ,        "^  '"  P™^«" 
Cuthill  forced  an  Z^^ Z^Z'^J ,^' ^^^'^^-^  Mr. 
>f  I  was  dead  or  alivn  •  n„7  ,    ^       '"  ''•  "•  '»  »ee 
Ws  thermometerrtZid  gl'^'rrif  ■»  '"^  ""««  ^^ 
number  of  new  cases  tW         f  .  ^"^'^  =^  '°  *e 
day.    In  winter  hTtore  a    ^?'"  .''  '"''P''^^''  ""at 
gloves  to  keep  out  tre  col/'"'/^  ""'•"'  '»"='»«'' 
gloves  in  summer  to  kef-  *'"\«"«>y  ">«  same 
neat  and  cleanTn  his"   r!,!^  °1  ""«  "'««•    »«  was 
in  a  drab-colored  ZuT  "'"'iPP^'-^''  »d  dressed 

down  vest,  black  cS^Xlh""'  f '"^  '"'"'» 
on  the  knees,  cotton  Tfnt^^"'  "'^^'"  ''""'Wos 
shoes  shining  w^hMST  Z  "'"^  "'  ™°-' 
brushed  as  brighllTd  T  r'''"^'  """^  ''"''kles 
of  the  cocked-ht  fraSity  ^  N^' i^r^'-'^i 
a  wife,  but  no  family  •  so  «L   ,  /  '    "°  '"^ 

powers  to  the  coS.f^  Z?"'^"^  ''^'"  ^•'"le 
his  person  neat  ::5X;  it  .  Tn' '^^P'"^  "^ 
she  looked  upon  her  sll'X  H^  f"'  "T 

:7i:\::re;m^~^^^^ 

--nallchHstejrth^^r;-td 


GRANT  THORBURN.  oqj 

mu™'!   rr  '°°''  "P°"  "'^'^  "'^<'  "««"'•    So  w, 
return  to  Cbnstmag,  1794. 

On  that  day  the  stores  and  work-shops  were  nearly 

111:  "^'  "  'r  ^^'""^'-S  '"  "■«  Friends  in  PeS 

God ;  now  they  have  only  time  to  worship  Maramoni 

hat  golden  ca^i„  Wall-street.    Then  we  had  only 

banks  and  ten  fmes  ten  ,«>re  of  brokers.  Then  the 
floor,  were  scrubbed  and  sprinkled  with  white  sand 
from  Coney  Island .-  now  they  are  covered  with 
doth  from  Brussels  and  carpets  from  Turkey.  Thla 

mise'r  Th::"  ^P^J  T  ""^y  «^<'  '"  'p'-'li'J 
tT^T      A  I  ^^^"^  ""  '"^'^^  ««  ">«  headache 

and  were  cured ;  now  they  pour  out  a  bottle  of  Co- 
logne water,  to  the  cost  of  fifty  cents,  and  yet  the 

told  thi?  ^^r  T""  *'"'■"«'"  ">«  ^'r,  now  I  am 
told  that  two  hundred  thousand  dollars   are  spent 

daughters  of  able  merchants  and  thriving  mechanic^ 
tTetorTlT'V'!  "P--^-"-'.  an'd  weavTo" 
was  a  g,rl  ,„d  Jacob  stood  by  his  mother's  knee  • 
now  they  sit  humming  French  airs  and  jingling  i 
p.ano  unt.1  they  get  the  vapo«  in  their  head  Id 
SoSr,;"  ''"'\^r'^-    Then  the  lasses  w^re 

to  be  elhtf '"^^  "f  double-aoled  shoes,  and  lived 
TO  De  eighty  J  now  thev  wApr  oiiu  .*^.i.-._  , 

•^  — '  ="«•  «"'"«&wigs  ana  datm 
18 


sBm 


206 


REMINIfCfiMCES   OF 


shoes  ;  and  before  they  live  half  their  days  the  doc- 
tor and  grave-digger  ride  riot  over  their  graves. 
Then  if  we  took  a  notion  to  get  married,  we  finished 
our  day's  work  at  7  p.  m.  as  usual,  got  supper  at  8, 
put  on  our  Sunday  coat,  and  the  lassie  her  summer 
iiat,  and  at  9  we  walked  to  Rev.  Dr.  John  Rogers 
in  Pine-street,  or  Rev.  Bishop  Provost  in  Vesey- 
street.  The  Bishop  or  the  Doctor's  man-servant  and 
maid-servant  were  alwa|9  dressed  by  eight  p.  m.  and 
ready  to  officiate  as  bride's-maid  and  groom's-man, 
and  from  their  long  experience  in  such  matters  they 
could  act  their  part  up  to  nature.  A  Spanish  dollar 
was  the  regular  fee.  We  then  walked  home  alone. 
Having  caught  the  bird,  we  took  her  to  the  nest  we 
had  provided  for  her.  Perhaps  we  began  with  three 
rush-bottomed  chairs,  at  25  cents  each ;  it  was  one 
more  than  we  wanted ;  and  we  had  our  room,  though 
small,  to  ourselves ;  our  hearts  knew  their  own  hap- 
piness, and  ho  stranger  intermeddled  with  our  joys. 
Now  the  bachelor  of  thirty- five  takes  his  bird  of  fif- 
teen to  the  public  table  of  Madame  B 's  board- 
ing-house, or  the  promiscuous  group  in  Howard's 
Hotel,  where  she  suffers  from  the  stare  of  some  im- 
pudent, brainless  blockhead,  or  is  put  to  the  blush 
by  the  insolent  titter  of  a  set  of  black-whiskered, 
most  consummate  fools ;  and  this  is  the  refinement 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Now,  my  young  friends,  don't  you  think  our  old 
sober-sided  mode  of  doing  this  business  was  more 
natural,  more  pleasant,  and  more  economical  than 


ORINT  THOHBURlf. 


207 


ays  the  doc- 
heir  graves. 
,  we  finished 
supper  at  8, 
her  summer 
Fohn  Bogers 
t  in  Vesey- 
-servant  and 
ght  p.  M.  and 
jroom's-man, 
matters  they 
panish  dollar 
home  alone, 
the  nest  we 
in  with  three 
;  it  was  one 
room,  though 
eir  own  hap- 
ith  our  joys, 
is  bird  of  M- 
*8  board- 
in  Howard's 
of  some  im- 
to  the  blush 
k-whiskered, 
e  refinement 

think  our  old 
ss  was  more 
lomical  than 


the  present  bombast  and  jingle   fashion  ?  Why,   I 
have  known  a  parson  get  a  check  for  $500  for  buck- 
ling  a  couple  together.    Fifty  years  ago  we  got  mar. 
ned  at  night,  went  to  work  at  six  in  the  momine 
with  all  the  sober  realities  of  life  on  our  backs,  and 
at  eight  found  our  breakfast  made  ready,  for  the  first 
time,  by  the  hands  of  her  we  loved  best.    In  this 
tiiere  was  a  pleasure  unspeakable  and  sublime.    On 
Wednesday  we  changed   our  nether  frock,  soiled 
with  brick-dust,  coal-smoke,   or  the   labor  of  the 
plane,  and  perhaps  a  rent  in  the  sleeve  or  a  button 
g-one  astray.    On  Saturday  night  we  found  th'e  shirt 
clean  and  neatly  folded,  the  rent  mended,  making 
.  them  look  a'maisi  aagude  as  new.  This  was  the  labor 
of  love.    A  bachelor  has  this  done  for  money,  but 
the  wash-woman  embezzles  his  stockings,  tears  his 
collars,  and  throws  his  vest  to  the  wind,  because  she 
IS  a  hireling.    The  money  spent  by  our  young  clerks 
and  mechanics  for  board,  washing,  mending,  tear, 
wear  and  cabbaging,  political   clubs  and  smoking 
fepamsh  cigars,  is  more  than  sufficient  to  support 
himself  and   an  industrious  wife.    Fifty  years  ago 
Mrs.   Washington  knit  stockings  for  her  general- 
now  there  is  not  fifty  ladies  in  the  city  who  can  play 
that  part;  and  hundreds  know  not  how  the  apple 
gets  into  the  heart  of  the  dumpling. 

On  New  Year's  day,  as  soon  as  service  was  over 
m  the  Middle  Dutch  Church,  you  might  see  the 
whole  company  of  elders  and  deacons  adjourn  to  the 
house  of  the  worthv  Dutch  mnvnr    t?j«i,o*j  \t^^i^\. 


Sdi 


icmmccsiccBi  or 


^1' 


corner  of  PinVstreet  and  Broadway:  thara  tli*<y 
l^roke  the  fii^t  cookey  and  sipped  tho  first  gla*fe  o^ 
cherry-bounce  for  the  season.  From  tlieftce  th«y 
¥t  ef't  from  house  to  hout  and  broke  their  bread  wiA 
merry  hearts.  Dinner  being  ended,  John,  with  hii 
wife  and  oldest  children,  would  go  to  the  house  of 
James ;  the  compliments  of  the  season,  the  custom- 
ary salute,  the  bounce,  (cherry-brandy  sweet  and 
weak,)  and  the  cookey,  with  the  health  of  the  family, 
being  all  discussed,  they  joined  in  company  and 
went  the  rounds;  they  gn thered  as  they  rolled  on- 
ward, "knd  before  the  moon  sunk  behind  the  blue 
hills  of  the  Jerseys,  you  might  see  twoscore  of  these 
happy  mortals  in  one  company.  In  all  this  the  rules 
of  decorum  and  sobriety  were  rarely  infringed  upon. 
To  be  sure,  we  had  no  temperance  societies  in  those 
days,  for  every  man  kept  a  temperance  society  in 
his  own  house. 

Young  folks  smile  when  their  grandfathers  tell  of 
the  happy  days  of  auld  long  syne.  But  certain  it 
is  that  fifty  years  ago  the  people  in  New- York  lived 
much  happier  than  they  do  now.  They  had  no  arti"* 
ficial  wants— ^only  two  banks — rarely  gave  a  note— 
— but  one  small  play-house — no  optai  i)r  Otto- 
mans, few  sofas  or  sideboards,  and  p^  '•  i»*^r»'  ;)t  iii^ 
pianos  in  the  city.  Now  more  money  is  paid  to  ser- 
T/ants  in  some  of  these  five-story  houses  for  rubbing, 
nt  -ebbing,  and  polishing  of  brasses  and  fumitute — 
icr      :-^.,xig    dusting,  and  breaking  of  glasses  and 


yeitm  fc,^:o. 


GRANT   TnOHBrRN. 


209 


6  ihfj 
;la&i  of 
e  tli#y 
id  with 
nth  his 
9UB6  of 

sustom- 
)et  and 
family, 
ny  and 
lied  on- 
he  blue 
>f  these 
le  rules 
d  upon. 
in  those 
:iety  in 

\  tell  of 
rtain  it 
rk  lived 
no  aiti' 

note — 
)!?,  otto- 

*ot  sii^ 
1  to  ser- 
ubbing, 
litufe — 
see  and 


ReminUeenee  oftha  City  Hot«l. 

"  SninetimM  in  hand  th«  tpada  or  plough  Hh  caught, 
"  Forth  calling  all  with  which  the  earth  ii  fraught  i— 
"Sumatimea  he  plied  the  itrong  mecbaoic  tool." 

The  City  Hotel  in  Broadway  was  built  in  the 
bummer  and  autumn  of  1794,  and  is  the  first  house 
in  the  city,  and  also  in  America,  whose  roof  was 
covered  with  slates.  Having  set  up  the  timbers  for 
the  roof,  and  nailed  the  rough  planks  whereon  to 
lay  the  slates,  they  camo  to  a  dead  stand  for  1:  ck  of 
nails  to  fasten  on  the  slates.  Every  hardware  .-tore 
in  the  city  was  ransacked  in  vain,  as  prior  to  thi  h  no 
slates  had  been  used  on  the  continent ;  therefore  no 
one  imported  any  of  the  nails.  There  were  nail- 
makers  in  New-York  and  Philadelphia  enough,  but 
they  could  only  make  shingle  nails.  T^ere  is  a  cer- 
tain  art  in  forming  the  head  of  the  slate-nail,  which 
only  nail-makers  from  Europe  are  up  to. 

In  this  dilemma  they  applied  to  me,  who  at  that 
time  was  hammering  ten-penny  nails  at  No.  55 
Liberty-street,  wishing  to  know,  first,  if  I  could  make 
the  nails.  Being  answered  in  the  affirmative,  they 
inquired,  secondly,  how  much  per  thousand  I  asked 
for  making,  they  finding  coal  and  iron  1  I  promised 
to  give  them  an  answer  in  the  morning  ;  this  was  at 
4  P.  M.  From  tnis  time  till  next  day  at  noon  I  de- 
bated ill  my  own  mind  whether  to  charge  one  dollar 
for  making  a  thousand,  or  ninety-four  cents.    I  have 

18» 


-'•^«*»>*"«W^ 


«10 


RfiMtNtflCEKCfilft   6f 


f 


often  laughed  since  at  my  own  simplicity.     Had  I 
charged  two  dollars  per  thousand  it  would  have  bean 
but  a  moderate  compensation  ;  ten  hours  is  a  lawful 
day's  work,  for  which  a  laborer  who  never  served  an 
apprenticeship  receives  a  dollar.  I  had  served  seven 
years  in  learning  to  make  these  nails,  and  by  close 
attention  could  make  100  per  hour ;  nearly  two  nails 
per  minute.     I  have  made  120  of  these  nails  in  one 
hour.     But  very  few  men  belonging  to  the  same 
craft  could  make  as  many :  the  nail  is  one  and  a  half 
inches  long,  having  a  head  as  broad  and  as  flat  as  a 
ten-cent  piece.     I  knew,  had  I  asked  three  dollars 
for  making  a  thousand,  they  would  have  been  com- 
pelled to  give  it,  for  they  could  not  put  the  slates  oii 
the  roof  till  I  made  the  nails  for  them.     One  dollar 
and  fifty  cents,  however,  would  have  been  but  a  fair 
compensation ;  but  until  I  came  to  America  I  had 
never  been   seventeen    miles   from   the    house    in 
which  I   was  born ;    and  as  I  had  only  been  five 
months  in  this  country,  I  was  as  ignorant  of  men 
and  their  manners  as  they  who  are  born  on  the  high- 
est peak  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 

Besides,  my  father  was  a  genuine  conscientious 
Scotch  Presbyterian  of  the  old  school.  He  taught 
his  children  never  to  take  advantage  of  their  neigh- 
bor's necessity,  and  to  love  our  neighbor  as  our- 
selves. I  thought,  when  I  came  to  reconsider,  (as 
they  say  in  Congress,)  I  had  loved  my  neighbors  of 
the  Hotel  better  than  myself,  (thus  steering  on  the 
wrong  side  of  ths  Con*mandment,)  inasmuch  as  I 


GRANT  THORBFRN. 


211 


Had  I 

ive  bean 
a  lawful 
jrved  an 
)d  seven 
by  close 
wo  nails 
is  in  one 
le  same 
id  a  half 
flat  as  a 
e  dollars 
jen  corn- 
slates  on 
le  dollar 
)ut  a  fair 
ca  I  had 
lOuse    in 
)een  five 
of  men 
the  high- 

cientious 
[e  taught 
ir  neigh- 
as  our- 
jider,  (as 
>hbors  of 
ig  on  the 
mch  as  1 


did  not  charge  them  a  sufficient  compensation  for 
my  time  and  labor.  I  had  not  yet  learned  that  every 
man  had  his  price.  I  knew  not  then  that  the  time 
was  at  hand  when  the  bawling,  pretending  friends  of 
the  people  would  get  into  power — would  loosen  the 
purse-strings,  and  shave  the  country,  even  to  the 
bone.  Washington,  Jay,  Hamilton  and  others,  all 
honest  men,  were  at  the  head.  Defaulters  were 
unknown  at  that  time  ;  but  presently  there  marched 
in  a  troop  of  the  pure  Democracy,  with  Aaron  Burr 
at  their  head ;  and  then  commenced  the  tug  at  the 
purse-strings.  Every  office,  from  the  treasury  at 
Washington  down  to  the  revenue  boat-office  on  the 
south  point  of  Whitehall,  New- York,  sent  forth 
defaulters ;  and  so  it  continues  to  the  present  day. 
But  this  is  digression* 

I  think  it  was  twenty-five  years  after  the  Hotel 
was  finished,  that  happening  to  pass  that  way,  I 
observed  the  slaters  stripping  the  roof,  preparatory 
to  raising  the  building  another  story.  I  climbed  up 
stairs,  got  on  the  roof,  and  gathered  a  handful  of  my 
nails,  which  I  put  in  a  bottle,  pouring  wine  and  oil 
among  them  to  keep  them  from  rust;  and  they  are 
now  as  fresh  as  the  hand  that  made  them  fifty  years 
ago. 


lii 


»12 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


-   i 
1 


Old  Times  {  or  RemtuUooncea  of  New- York. 

"  Babylon  of  old 
"  Not  more  the  glory  of  the  earth  than  the, 
"  A  more  accomplish'd  world'*  chief  glory  now." 

When  I  first  saw  New- York  in  1794,  there  lived 
an  old  man  on  the  south  corner  of  Pine  and  Nassau- 
streets.  His  hair,  beard  and  eyebrows  were  whitened 
by  the  frosts  of  one  hundred  winters ;  he  sat  on  the 
stoop  of  an  old  Dutch  house,  and  all  that  went  by 
looked  on  and  passed  orer  on  the  other  side.  He 
seemed  the  one  man  in  creation  unknown  and  un- 
knowing. With  this  man  I  loved  to  converse  about 
the  men  and  scenes  of  a  by-gone  century.  He  re- 
membered the  negro-plot,  he  saw  the  ferry-boats 
land  their  passengers  from  Paulushook,  (now  Jersey 
City,)  at  the  ferry-house,  corner  of  Broad  and  Gar- 
den, now  Exchange-street;  he  assisted  the  fishermen 
to  draw  their  seines  on  the  beach  where  now  stands 
Greenwich-street ;  he  remembered  ihe  ground  from 
Pine-street  to  Maiden-lane,  and  from  Nassau-street 
to  the  East  river  one  field  of  corn ;  he  had  seen  a 
mill  whose  wheel  was  turned  by  the  waters  from  a 
spring  near  the  head  of  Ooenties-slip.  Mill-street 
took  its  name  from  this  circumstance.  (Since  the  fire 
of  1835,  I  believe  Mill-street  is  struck  out  from  the 
map  of  the  city.)  The  first  synagogue  for  the  Jews  in 
this  city  was  erected  in  Mill-street ;  the  reason  as- 
signed, because  of  its  vicinity  to  the  waters  of  this 
spring — water  being  much  used  on  their  days  of  puri- 


OR  AWT  THORBtTRN. 


213 


irk. 


re  lived 
Nassau- 
vhitened 
It  on  the 
went  by 
ide.    He 

and  un- 
se  about 

He  re- 
ry-boats 
V  Jersey 
ind  Gar- 
shermen 
>v  stands 
nd  from 
iu-street 
1  seen  a 
3  from  a 
ill-street 
>  the  fire 
from  the 
Jews  in 
ason  as- 
}  of  this 

of  puri- 


fication. So  deep  was  Water-street  covered  with 
water  in  his  time,  he  told  me  he  could  point  out  the 
spot  where  a  vessel  was  sunk,  and  now  lies  buried 
deep  underground.  Roach  and  sun-fish  were  caught 
in  the  Collect-pond,  now  a  part  of  Elm  and  Centre- 
streets,  as  late  as  1793. 

He  remembered  the  ancient  City  Hall,  (Stadt- 
Huys,)  at  the  head  of  Coenties-slip  ;  said  it  had  often 
been  used  as  a  fort  in  Leister's  civil  wars,  against  the 
real  fort  at  the  battery.  A  ball  there  shot  at  it  lodged 
in  the  side  wall  of  the  house  belonging  to  Tunis 
Quick,  at  the  head  of  Coenties-slip.  This  house  was 
taken  down  in  1827 ;  it  stood  on  the  south-west  cor- 
ner of  Pearl-street  and  Coenties-slip.  That  ball  was 
given  to  Doctor  Mitchell  as  a  relic. 

There  were  markets  at  every  slip  on  the  East  riv- 
er. The  one  at  the  foot  of  Wall-street  was  called  the 
Meal-market.  There  were  no  slips  on  the  north  side 
of  the  city.  But  few  of  the  streets  were  paved  i 
Broadway,  and  other  streets,  all  had  their  gutter- 
ways  in  the  middle.  ^ 

He  remembered  seeing  the  blockhouses  in  a  line 
of  palisades  quite  across  the  island.  They  went  in 
a  line  from  the  back  of  Chambers-street.  They  were 
built  of  logs,  about  one  story  high ;  and  being  unoc- 
cupied, the  Indians  used  to  take  up  their  abode,  and 
make  and  sell  baskets  there. 

In  1772  Broadway  extended  no  farther  up  than  the 
Hospital,  at  that  time  the  ground  whereon  it  now 
stands  was  an  apple  orchard  belonging  to  the  Rut- 


214 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


gers  family.  There  was  a  rope-walk  a  little  north  of 
Courtland-street,  running  from  Broadway  to  the 
North  river ;  another  ran  parallel  to  it  from  opposite 
the  present  Bridewell  prison. 

The  City  Hall  at  the  head  of  Broad-street,  besides 
holding  the  Courts,  was  also  a  prison ;  in  front  of 
which  he  remembered  seeing  a  whipping-post t  pillory 
and  stocks. 

He  remembered  Lindley  Murray,  the  grammarian. 
He  lived  near  Peck-slip,  and  when  on  his  way  to 
and  returning  from  the  Fly-market,  foot  of  Maiden- 
lane,  he  used  to  leap  across  Burling-slip  (a  distance 
of  twenty-one  feet)  with  a  pair  of  fowls  in  his  hands. 
To  his  efforts  on  these  occasions  was  attributed  his 
lameness  in  after-life. 

He  remembered  ship-yards  between  Beekman  and 
Burling-slips.  The  Bear,  now  Washington  market* 
was  the  only  one  on  the  North  river  side,  and  took 
its  name  from  the  fact  of  the  first  meat  ever  sold  in  it 
having  been  Bear's  flesh. 

In  my  own  time  I  remember  the  old  Tea-water 
pump,  which  stood  between  Centre  and  the  rear  of 
the  lots  on  Chatham-street ;  which  was  then,  in  1794» 
considered  the  only  water  we  could  obtain  fit  for 
drawing  tea.  It  was  brought  to  our  doors,  and  sold 
for  a  penny-bill  per  gallon.  It  has  long  been  out  of 
use,  and  was,  I  believe,  filled  up  about  eighteen  years 
ago.  I  found  the  water  brought  by  a  pipe  into  a  li" 
quor  store,  in  the  house  No.  126  Chatham-street.  I 
drank  of  it  to  revive  recolleeiious. 


GRANT   THOBBDRN. 


215 


north  of 

to  the 

opposite 

besides 
front  of 
,  pillory 

imarian. 
I  way  to 
Maiden- 
distance 
is  hands. 
lUted  his 

man  and 

market* 

md  took 

sold  in  it 


In  1798,  when  they  were  digging  in  Broadway  to 
lay  the  Manhattan  pipes,  by  the  south  corner  of  Wall- 
street  they  dug  up  a  large  square  post ;  from  the 
guage  of  ray  eye,  I  think  it  contained  about  ten  solid 
feet.  It  was  in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  and  as 
the  yellow  fever  was  raging  at  the  time,  and  very  few 
pedestrians  in  the  street,  it  was  laid  on  the  pavement 
for  the  inspection  of  the  Board  of  Health,  their  depu- 
ties and  officers,  hearsemen  and  grave-diggers,  with  a 
few  solitary  mortals  who  found  it  inconvenient  to 
leave  the  city.  Many  came  to  look  on  it,  but  none 
could  conjecture  what  might  have  been  its  use.  At 
last  a  very  old  man,  who  said  he  was  born  in  1695  in 
New- York,  came  to  view  it.  He  remembered  seeing 
one  of  the  city  gate-posts  stand  there,  and  said,  this 
was  the  bottom  of  the  post.  He  added,  that  a  stockado 
ten  or  twelve  feet  high  ran  from  the  East  river  up 
Wall-street  and  down  to  the  North  river,  to  keep  out 
the  Indians. 


ea-water 
3  rear  of 
in  1794, 
n  fit  for 
and  sold 
jn  out  of 
sen  years 
into  a  li- 
itreet.    I 


A  vlBlt  to  Mm.  Grant,  of  LaKipan. 

"  E'en  age  itself  teems  privileg'd  in  her 
w'*"*  '^^^"  exeniplion  from  iia  own  defecU. 

•'With  youthful  smilei,  she  goes  toward  the  grave 
oi  rightly,  and  almost  without  decay." 

Mrs.  Grant  was  the  daughter  of  Duncan  M'Vicar 
and  was  born  in  1755.  Her  father  came  out  to  this 
-^«x,«jr  *«  z.u/,  unaer  me  patronage  of  Col.  Archi- 


-  i,0JUMi»'>tmM.^,.^i^^i««'^m.-<"'-m.. 


i 


1 


! 


216 


EEMtNISCENCSS   OF 


bald  Montgomery,  afterward  Earl  of  Eglinton,  and 
was  an  officer  in  the  55th  regiment  of  the  line.  In  the 
following  year  Mrs.  M'Vicar  and  her  infant  daugh- 
ter also  came  to  New- York,  and  in  1758  moved  to 
Claverack,  where  they  remained  while  Mr.  M'Vicar 
was  absent  with  the  army ;  the  family  then  went  to 
Albany,  and  from  thence  to  Oswego. 

The  description  of  this  romantic  journey,  in  boatf , 
from  Schenectady,  is  one  of  Mrs.  Grant's  most  plea- 
sing efforts.   In  1808  she  published,  in  London,  her 
youthful  reminiscenses,  in  the  work  entitled  ^'Me" 
moirs  of  an  American  Lady:*    This  attracted  great 
attention  in  London,  and  rendered  her  extensively 
known  in  this  country.  It  is  the  only  work  of  the  kind 
which  gives  us  a  faithful  picture  of  the  manners  of 
the  early  settlers  of  the  province  of  New- York.    In- 
deed, but  for  this,  there  would  be  a  complete  chasm 
in  our  social  history  of  those  times.  The  state  of  so- 
ciety and  manners  in  the  province  of  New- York,  and 
particularly  in  Albany— her  anecdotes  of  the  Schuy- 
lers,  Van  Rensselaers,  Cuylers,  and  other  distinguish- 
ed families  of  that  city— gave  popularity  and  interest 
to  the  Memoirs. 

In  1810  she  removed  from  London  to  Edinburgh, 
where,  for  30  years,  her  house  was  the  resort  of  the 
best  society  of  the  place.  The  Americans  who  visited 
Scotland  considered  it  quite  a  duty  to  pay  their  re- 
spects to  Mrs.  Grant ;  and  she  always  received  them 
witJi  marked  attention.    She  died  in  1838,  calm  and 


.A.     >.1-   .       .^  ^m^.^       ^^C    O.^     W^tfftVMi 


<ii>  uui;  e^c  v&  w  jT 


ssAa* 


OaANT   THORBURN. 


217 


JP* 


on,  and 
.  In  the 
;  daugh- 
loved  to 
VI'Vicar 
went  to 

in  boatf, 
)8t  plea- 
Ion,  her 
d  *'Me^ 
ed  great 
ensively 
the  kind 
nners  of 
3rk.    In- 
\A  chasm 
ite  of  so- 
ork,  and 
e  Schuy- 
tinguish- 
1  interest 

linburgh, 
irt  of  the 
lo  visited 
their  re- 
sred  them 
calm  and 


r  was  in  Edinburgh  in  1834.  On  the  5th  of  Febru- 
ary, at  11  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  called  to  see  this 
venerable  lady.  The  bell  was  answered  by  a  neat  and 
tidy  Scotch  lassie. 

"  Is  Mrs.  Grant  at  homel"  I  inquired. 

"She  is,"  answered  the  lassie,  "but  never  sees 
company  till  after  two  o'clock  !" 

As  she  was  then  in  her  eightieth  year,  I  thought 
perhaps  she  was  still  in  bed. 

"  Is  she  up  ]*'  I  asked  again. 

"  She  is." 

"  Is  she  dressed  ?" 

"  She  is." 

You  know,^  that  among  the  ladies,  being  dressed 
means  more  than  merely  throwing  a  gown  over  the 
shoulders.  I  had  travelled  a  long  way  through  the 
Scotch  mist,  and  was  loth  to  lose  this  opportunity, 
which  I  knew  would  never  return.  I  took  out  my 
card,  saying — 

"  Please  give  this  to  your  mistress,  and  say  to  her 
that  I  shall  consider  it  a  particular  favor  if  she  will 
GRANT  me  only  three  minutes'  conversation." 

The  girl  returned  immediately,  saying — 

"  Will  you  pleasf  to  walk  up  stairs,  sir  ]" 

In  the  middle  of  an  elegant  parlor  sat  the  old  lady, 
her  back  to  the  fire ;  and  before  her  a  large  desk,  cov- 
ered with  books  and  writing  materials. 

"  Be  so  good,  sir,"  said  she,  **  as  to  help  yourself 
to  a  chair  and  sit  down  by  me.  I  am  not  now  so  able 
to  wait  UDon  mv  friends  as  I  was  sixty  years  aeo.'* 

19 


218 


REMINISCSNCES  OF 


I  was  going  to  apologise  for  intruding  upon  her 
hours  of  seclusion,  when  she  interrupted  me,  by — 

"  Stop,  if  you  please,  sir  !" 

Then  raising  my  card,  which  was  printed,  **  Grant 
Thorburn,  New- York,"  and  placing  her  finger  upon 
the  word  "  New- York,"  said  : 

**  That  is  a  passport  to  me,  at  any  hour." 

We  sat  and  conversed  for  hours,  which  seemed  but 
as  minutes.  She  spoke  of  the  time  when  Niagara 
was  the  only  fort  on  the  northern  frontier — she  refer- 
red to  the  times  when  the  Van  Rensselaers,  Schuy- 
lers,  Van  Cortlands  and  Cuylers  were  her  playmates 
at  school.  Gen.  Hamilton's  wife,  (a  Schuyler)  who 
yet  lives  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  vigorous  old  age,  was 
among  the  number.  When  I  told  her  I  had  the  plea- 
sure of  being  personally  acquainted  with  many  of  the 
descendeuts  of  these  worthies,  and  that  they  were  in 
no  wise  degenerated, her  eyes  glistened  with  pleasure. 

Mrs.  Grant's  "American  Lady"  was  republished 
about  eight  years  ago,  I  think,  by  Dearborn.  This 
book  should  be  in  the  library  of  every  member  of  the 
Empire  State,  and  in  the  hands  of  every  man,  woman 
and  child  who  have  a  drop  of  Dutch  blood  in  their 
veins.  ^ 


«RANT  THORBURIf. 


219 


The    Klt&y    «nd    hia    Scotch    Cook* 

"  He  doubtless  is  in  sport,  and  does  but  droll, 
"  Assuminf  thus  a  ranli  unlcnown  berore— 
"  Grand  caterer  and  dry-aurse  of  the  church." 

The  witty  earl  of  Rochester  being  in  company 
with  king  Charles  II.  his  queen,  chaplain,  and  some 
ministers  of  state,  after  they  had  been  discoursing 
on  business,  the  king  suddenly  exclaimed — **  Let  our 
thoughts  be  unbended  from  the  cares  of  state,  and 
give  us  a  generous  glass  of  wine,  t/iat  ckeeretk,  as  the 
Scripture  saith,  God  and  man.'*    The  queen  hearing 
this,  modestly  said  she  thought  there  could  be  no 
such  text  in  the  Scriptures,  and  that  the  idea  was 
but  little  else  than  blasphemy.    The  king  replied 
that  he  was  not  prepared  to  turn  to  the  chapter  and 
verse,  but  was  sure  he  had  met  with  it  in  his  Scrip- 
ture reading.    The  chaplain  was  applied  to,  and  he 
was  of  the  same  opinion  as  the  queen.  Rochester, 
suspecting  the  king  to  be  right,  and  being  no  friend 
to  the  clergy,*  slipped  out  of  the  room,  to  inquire 
among  the  servants  for  a  Bible.    [A  pretty  king,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  and  defender  of  the  faith  !  and  a 
pretty  chaplain  to  a  king  that  could  not  muster  a  Bible 
between  them!]    The  servants  named   David,   the 

*  The  majority  of  them,  at  that  day,  were  a  disgrace  to  their  pro- 
fession.   They  are  not  much  better  now.    In  the  Commercial  Adver- 

tisei  is  an  account  of  a  curate,  the  Rev.  H.  M ,  prosecuting  his 

kept  mistress  for  extorting  money  from  him,  after  he  had  thrown  her 
off  ttud  takea  up  with  two  or  three  others  of  those  frail  sisters. 


220 


REMINISCENCES   OP 


Scotch  cook,  who  they  said  always  carried  a  Bible 
about  him.    David  being  called,  recollected  both  the 
text  and  where  to  find  it.    Rochester  told  David  to 
be  in  waiting,  and  returned  to  the  king.    This  text 
was  still  the  topic  of  conversation,   and  Rochester 
proposed  to  call  in  David,  who    he  said,  he  found 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  Scriptures.    David  was 
called,  and  being  asked  the  question,  produced  his 
Bible  and  read  the  text ;  it  was  from  the  parable  of 
the  trees  in  the  wood  going  forth  to  appoint  a  king 
over  them — Judges,  9th  chapter  and  13th  verse — 
*•  And  ilie  vine  said  unto  thenit  should  I  leave  my 
wine,  which  cheer eth  God  a?id  man^  and  go  to  be  pro- 
moted over  the  trees  V    The  king  smiled,  the  queen 
asked  pardon,  and  the  chaplain  blushed.   Rochester 
then  asked  this  Doctor  of  Divinity  if  iie  could  inter- 
pret the  text,  now  it  was  produced "?    The  chaplain 
was  mute.    The  earl  therefore  applied  to  David  for 
the  exposition.  The  cook  immediately  replied,  "How 
much  wine  cheereth  man" — looking  Rochester  in  his 
eyes,  who   perhaps  David  had  seen  Jbu  before — 
••your  lordship  knoweth;  and  that  it  cheereth  God, 
I  beg  leave  to  say,  that  under  the  Old  Testament  dis- 
pensation there  were  meat-offerings  and  drink-offer- 
ings ;  the  latter  consisted  of  wine,  which  was  typical 
of  the  blood  of  the  Mediator,  which,  by  a  metaphor, 
was  said  to  cheer  God,  as  he  was  well  pleased  in  the 
way  of  salvation  that  he  had  appointed,  whereby  his 
justice  was  satisfied,   his    law   fulfilled — his  mercy 
Feigned,  his  gi'ace  triuiripheu,  an  uib  peiioetions  uaV- 


GRANT  THORBURlf. 


221 


monized,  the  sinner  was  saved,  and  God  in  Christ 
glorified.'* 

The  king  looked  astonished — the  queen  shed  tears 
-—the  chaplain  looked  confounded— and  Rochester 
applauded.  After  some  very  severe  reflections  upon 
the  doctor,  Rochester  gravely  moved  that  his  majesty 
would  be  pleased  to  send  the  chaplain  into  the  kitch- 
en to  turn  cook,  and  that  he  would  make  this  cook 
his  chaplain. 

Now,  by  way  of  conclusion  to  this  historical  fact, 
I  will  only  remark  that  this  same  cook  is  a  just  spe- 
cimen of  what  the  great  majority  of  the  Scottish  pea- 
santry  are  at  this  present  day.  Few  of  them  learn 
more  at  school  than  to  read  the  Bible  and  write  their 
own  name.  But  the  beautiful  and  sublime  language 
in  which  the  narrative  is  conveyed — the  concise  yet 
true  descriptions  of  men  and  matter,  &c. — make 
those  whose  Bible  was  their  school-book,  and  who 
have  made  it  their  companion  by  the  way,  to  be 
wiser  than  their  teachers — to  be  honest  inquirers  after 
the  truth,  and  to  thirst  after  scientific  knowledge,  as 
the  stricken  deer  pants  for  the  cooling  stream. 
Hence,  in  the  heather  hills  among  the  shepherds,  and 
in  the  lowlands  among  the  ploughmen  of  Scotland, 
you  will  find  thousands  deeply  read  in  almost  every 
science  and  language.  They  dive  into  the  bowels  of 
every  science  in  which  they  engage.  They  are  the 
most  profound  engineers,  the  most  scientific  garden- 
ers and  botanists,  the  most  learned  physicians,  sur- 
geons and  anatomists,  profound  scholars,  learned  in- 

19* 


222 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


dependent,  and  conscientious  preachers  of  righteous- 
ness. Look  how  they  stand  at  the  present  day. 
They  are  not  priests  for  tithes,  and  bishops  for  pro- 
motion ;  for  by  them  the  Gospel  is  preached— almost 
exclusively— only  to  the  poor.  Now  I  challenge  all 
the  popes,  cardinals  and  deists  on  earth  to  produce 
as  many  Bibles  in  any  country  in  Europe  as  there  are 
to  be  found  in  twenty  miles  square  of  Scotland ;  it  is, 
therefore,  a  fair  inference  that  the  Bibic  only  makes 
them  differ  from  the  ferocious  Spaniard,  the  German 
serf,  and  the  Russian  boor. 

The  present  policy  of  the  crowned  heads,  popes, 
bishops  and  prelates  of  Europe,  is  to  blot  the  nape 
of  republic  from  the  earth.    This  government  being 
destroyed,  their  end  is  accomplished.    For  this  pur- 
pose, the  church  of  Rome— always  the  right  hand 
agent  of  tyrants— is  engaged,  and  is  now  in  the  full 
tide  of  successful  experiment.   The  majority  formed 
our  government,  and  the  majority  can  destroy  it. 
From  present  appearances  this  majority  will  soon  be 
Romanists.  Our  political  aspirants  will  join  the  pope, 
or  the  devil,  provided  he  secures  for  them  a  score  of 
votes.    Our  Judas  Americans  will  help  to  drive  the 
Bible  from  the  Protestant,  schools  ;  and  as  one  good 
turn  deserves  another,  the  whole  fraternity  of  Jesu- 
its, friars,  cardinals,  capuchins,  confessors,  curates, 
priests  and  pretenders,  with  the  lazzaroni  at  their 
backs,  will  join  to  raise  these  Judases  aforesaid  to 
the  highest  offices  in  the  church  and  state.    Besides, 
the  iirnorant  Deasantrv  from  Catholic  countries  are 


GIANT  TI».    .uffBW. 


223 


iteous- 
it  day. 
jr  pro- 
almost 
nge  all 
Toduce 
ere  are 
i;  it  is, 
makes 
vennan 

popes, 
e  nape 
It  being 
bis  pur- 
ht  hand 
the  full 
formed 
itroy  it. 
soon  be 
le  pope, 
score  of 
[rive  the 
me  good 
of  jesu- 
curates, 
at  their 
resaid  to 
Besides, 
tries  are 


landing  on  our  shores  at  the  rate  of  nearly  one  thou- 
sand per  day,  nnd,  by  means  of  perjury  and  political 
swindling,  get  naturalized  in  three  months  ;  then  the 
votes  of  these  poor  ignorant  emigrants  toll  as  much 
at  an  election  as  the  votes  of  the  native  bom  Ameri- 
cans ;  and  unless  the  natives  unite  and  bestir  them- 
selves they  will  soon  be  in  the  minority.  Let  every 
man,  then,  who  wishes  to  perpetuate  our  institutions, 
support  the  native  ticket.  If  every  city,  town  and 
village  could  boast  a  James  Harper  at  its  head,  we 
should  soon  have  less  of  the  ten-days-citizen  making. 

I  suppose  now  some  of  my  readers  will  smile,  and 
say.  Why,  he  talks  like  an  American,  while  he  was 
imported  from  Scotland  himself  All  true,  but  while 
Washington  was  President  I  became  a  citizen  ;  be- 
sides, in  the  interim  I  have  married  two  yankee 
girls,  and  that's  being  naturalized  enough,  I  think, 
in  all  conscience.  And,  if  I  can  help  it,  I  don't  wish 
to  see  this  beautiful  country — where  I  have  eaten  so 
many  pumpkin  pies — turned  into  a  habitation  for 
devils,  where  the  priests,  like  the  locusts  of  Egypt 
and  Italy,  eat  up  every  green  thing. 

In  Ireland,  the  soil  and  climate  are  good  ;  the  pea- 
santry are  ignorant,  and  live  miserably.  In  Scotland 
the  soil  is  poor,  the  climate  indifferent ;  the  pea- 
santry are  intelligent,  and  live  comfortably.  What 
maketh  them  to  differ]  In  knowledge  there  lieth 
strength. 


224 


BEMimSCENCES  OF 


Rid«8    on    liOng-Tsland* 

"Scenes  muct  be  beautiful,  which,  daily  view'dt 
"  Please  daily,  and  whose  novelty  survives 
**  Long  knowledge  and  the  scrutiny  of  yaars ; 
''Praise  jusdy  du^  to  those  that  1  describe*" 

Cross  at  Peck-slip,  Grand-street,  or  any  of  the  fer- 
ries to  Williamsburg ;  turn  your  horse  with  his  head 
to  the  northeast,  go  ahead,  keeping  the  river  on  your 
left  hand,  and  a  smooth,  quiet  and  beautiful  road  will 
open  to  your  view,  whereon  you  may  ride  to  Astoria 
in  forty  minutes.    On  the   way  you  will  pass  many 
thriving  farms,  gardens  cultivated  by  Germans,  men, 
women  and  children  in  the  same  costume  in  which 
they  were  imported  fifty  years  ago.    You  cross  the 
Corporation  farms,  within  a  few  yards  of  the  Asylum, 
where  you  may  see  six  hundred  orphans,  from  one  to 
twelve  years  of  age — all  neat,  clean,  happy  and  or- 
derly :  this  is  the  most  interesting  spectacle  to  be 
seen  in  America.    You   then   go  through  Ravens- 
wood,  and  a  quarter-of-a-mile  farther  brings  you  to 
Thorbum's  Garden.    There  every  one  who  wears  a 
clean  shirt,  and  is  not  drunk,  has  free  access ;  and 
there,  among  plants  foreign  and  exotic,  you  may  find 
your  old  friend  Grant,  who  made  bouquets  for  some  of 
your  grandmothers  when  they  used  to  dance  in  the 
City  Assembly-Room  in  the  City  Hotel,  Broadway, 
forty-four  years  ago.    There  I  have  seen  them  spin 
round  the  chalk  circles  on  the  floor  like  beautiful 
birds  of  Paradise,  whose  gravity  seemed  too  light  to 
keep  them  on  the  earth  j  but  now  they  are  as  old  and 


GRANT   THORBURN. 


225 


Btiffas  myself,  and  what's  worse,  some  of  the  foolish 

I  among  them  wear  flaxen  wigs,  like  old  sheep  dressed 
in  lambs'  wool.  But  this  is  a  digression,  and  we  re- 
turn to  the  road.  Leaving  the  green-house,  dahlias, 
and  sensitive  plants,  continue  your  course  northeast, 
which  will  bring  you  straight  through  the  main  street 
of  Astoria ;  from  thence  lies  before  you  a  new,  level, 
straight,  and  beautiful  road  to  Flushing  toll-gate ; 
but  don't  enter  Flushing,  for  this  will  cost  you  four 
or  five  shillings,  which  is  absolutely  more  than  some 
of  their  apple-trees  are  worth.  Tack  about  just  this 
side  of  the  toll-gate,  keep  a  southwest  course — it's  a 
fine  road — and  an  hour's  easy  drive  will  bring  you 
up  at  the  Dutch  Church  in  Newtown,  then  keep  to 
the  northwest,  which  will  bring  you  on  a  good  road 
to  Williamsburgh. 

These  roads  v/hich  I  have  described  are  now  lite- 
rally strewed  with  flowers  from  the  cherry,  peach, 
and  apple-trees  with  which  they  are  lined.  How 
much  more  sociable,  comfortable  and  reasonable  is 
a  drive  on  these  roads,  than  going  up  the  Third  Ave- 
nue to  HarlsBm,  where  you  encounter  meat-carts, 
dirt-carts,  brick-carts,  and  hog-carts,  with  wild  horses 
driven  by  savage  men,  members  of  the  Spartan  band, 
and  of  the  honorable  fraternity  of  high-binders  in  the 
Bowery,  running  foul,  locking  wheels,  upsetting  and 
downsetting  the  whole  family  compact — besides  dust, 
flies,  musquitoes,  sheep,  goats,  and  oxen,  with  all  the 
plagues  of  Egypt  at  their  back.  Here  you  may  drive 
seven  miles  without  even  meeting  a  sober-sided  old 
Dutch  wagon,  ^ 


226 


RBUnmSCENCES   OF 


An  Apology  for  the  Friends,  or  Tribute  to  IVorih* 

"Are  domestic  comforts  dead? 
"Are  all  the  nameleu  sweets  of  A-iendship  fled? 
**  Has  time  worn  out,  or  fashion  put  to  shame 
"Good  sense,  good  health,  good  conscience  and  good  fame?'* 

The  following  just  eulogy  on  the  Society  of  Friends 
I  read  from  Chambers*  Edinburgh  Journal: — "In 
days  gone  by,"  says  he,  •'  if  I  wished  to  point  to  a 
model  where  wealth  seems  to  have  been  accumu- 
lated for  the  sole  purpose  of  doing  good,  I  would 
hold  up  to  admiration  the  people  called  Quakers. 
They  are  wealthy,  almost  to  a  man;  and  where, 
throughout  Christendom,  in  its  various  ramifications, 
is  there  a  body  of  people  who  have  done  so  much 
good,  and  with  so  much  disinterestedness,  not  choos- 
ing their  own  connections  as  the  sole  recipients  of 
their  bounty,  but  extending  it  to  every  shade  of  reli- 
gious creed.  In  the  proper  and  legitimate  uses  of 
wealth,  I  present  this  people  as  a  model  worthy  of 
general  imitation.  The  late  venerated  Richard  Rey- 
nolds, of  Bristol,  who  had  amassed  a  princely  for- 
tune in  the  iron  trade,  looked  upon  himself  merely 
as  the  agent  of  the  Almighty.  His  entire  income, 
after  deducting  the  moderate  expenses  of  his  family, 
was  devoted  to  benevolence :  and  he  thought  his 
round  of  duty  still  incomplete,  unless  he  devoted  his 
time  also.  He  deprived  himself  of  slumber,  to  watch 
the  bed  of  sickness  and  pain,  and  to  administer  con- 
solation to  the  heart  bruised  with  affliction.    On  one 


GRANT   THORBUBN. 


227 


* 


occasion  he  wrote  to  a  friend  in  London,  requesting 
to  know  what  object  of  charity  remained,  stating 
that  he  had  not  spent  the  whole  of  his  income.  His 
friend  informed  him  of  a  number  of  persons  confined 
in  prison  for  small  debts.  He  paid  the  whole,  and 
swept  the  miserable  mansion  of  its  distressed  ten- 
ants. Most  of  his  donations  were  enclosed  in  a 
blank  cover,  bearing  the  modest  signature  of  *A 
Friend.'  A  lady  once  applied  to  him  on  behalf  of 
an  orphan,  saying,  'When  he  is  old  enough,  I  will 
teach  him  to  name  and  thank  his  benefactor.*  *  Nay, 
friend,'  replied  the  good  man,  *  thou  art  wrong ;  we 
do  not  thank  the  clouds  for  rain.  Teach  him  to  look 
higher,  and  to  thank  Him  who  giveth  both  the 
clouds  and  the  rain.  My  talent  is  the  meanest  of  all 
talents — a  little  sordid  dust ;  but  as  the  man  in  the 
parable  was  accountable  for  his  one  talent,  so  am  I 
accountable  to  the  grestl  Lord  of  all.'" 


A  FRIENDLY   HINT. 


An  elderly  gentleman,  accustomed  to  indulge  in 
frequent  potations  of  brandy,  entered  the  bar-room 
,  of  an  inn  in  the  pleasant  city  of  Hudson,  where  sat 
a  grave  Quaker  warming  his  feet  by  the  fire.  The 
old  toper,  lifting  a  pair  of  green  spectacles  on  his 
forehead,  rubbing  his  infirm  eyes,  and  calling  for  a 
hot  brandy  toddy,  remarked  to  the  Quaker,  as  he 
seated  himself  by  the  fire,  that  his  eyes  were  getting 
weaker,  and  that  even  his  spectacles  didn't  seem  to 
do  'em  any  good.  '•  I'li  tell  thee,  friend,"  replied  the 


228 


HEMINISCEMCES   OF 


Quaker,  "what  I  think;  if  thee  was  to  wear  thy 
spectacles  over  thy  mouth  for  a  few  months  thy 
eyes  would  get  sound  again." 

Speaking  of  the  Friends  reminds  me  of  a  remark 
which  fell  from  the  lips  of  Judge  M'Lain,  of  Penn- 
sylvania, some  twenty  years  ago.  On  his  retiring 
from  the  bench  he  delivered  a  valedictory  address, 
in  which  he  remarked  that,  during  sixty  years  he 
had  stood  at  the  bar  and  sat  on  the  bench,  only  one 
case  in  which  the  parties  belonged  to  the  Society  of 
Friends  had  come  before  him.  It  has  been  remark- 
ed of  them,  that  they  feed  the  poor  of  all  religious 
sects,  while  they  themselves  neither  ask,  need,  nor 
receive  assistance  from  any. 

For  the  past  fifty  years  the  world  has  been  flood- 
ed with  new  systems  of  domestic  and  political  eco- 
nomy, all  professing  to  improve  and  ameliorate  the 
condition  of  society.  Witness  Fanny  Wright  and 
Robert  Owen.  Why  do  not  these  reformers  make 
short  work  of  it,  and  just  hold  up  to  the  gaping 
throng,  as  worthy  of  their  imitation,  and  of  all  their 
acceptation,  the  beautiful  system  of  punctuality, 
simplicity  and  domestic  economy  as  practised  by 
the  Society  of  Friends?  Theirs  is  not  now  an  expe- 
riment ;  it  has  been  in  practical  operation  for  cen- 
^wUries,  and  it  now  works  as  well  as  it  did  in  the  days 
of  Barkley  and  George  Fox.  The  works  of  God,  in 
all  places  of  his  dominions,  are  governed  by  the  laws 
of  punctuality.    We  cannot  deviate  from  this  law 

•-1  ^      1 • J —^ -I*—    ^^    ^■.■.■..   V.^r.Aa         T^Viia. 


GRANT   THORBURN. 


229 


children  of  the  Friends,  from  the  breast  to  their  bu- 
rial,  are  nurtured  in  the  rules  of  punctuality.  As  it 
grows  with  their  growth,  it  requires  no  extra  effort 
to  lead  them  in  the  right  path.  For  instance,  if  a 
child  IS  trained  to  retire  at  8  a.  m.  it  soon  becomes  a 
habit.  It  IS  owing  to  this  principle  of  punctuality 
m  the  domestip  circle  that  every  member  of  the  family 
must  be  home,  and  retire  at  a  stated  hour—that 
they  are  not  exposed  to  the  temptations  of  the  thea- 
tre, the  brawls  of  the  tavern,  or  the  damnation  of  the 
gambhng-table.  The  instances  are  very  rare,  in- 
deed, of  a  young  man  belonging  to  the  Societ'y  of 
Friends  being  caught  in  a  street  brawl. 

I  remember,  when  I  came  first  to  New- York  in 
1794,  that  the  only  watch-house  then  in  the  city  waa 
kept  in  the  basement  of  the  house  on  the  south  cor- 
ner of  Broad  and  Wall-streets.    As  I  lived  in  the 
neighborhood  for  many  years,  and  as  I  had  never 
seen  a  watch-house  in  Scotland,  I  used  to  go  of  an 
evening,  now  and  then,  after  I  quitted  work,  to  view 
human  nature  in  all  its  wild  und  frantic  tricks  when 
left  to  its  own  guidance.    The  captain  of  the  watch 
was  a  sober-sided  old  Dutchman,  and  as  he  under- 
stood Scotch,  he  and  I  got  warm  friends.  Conversing 
about  the  characters  which  were  nightly  brought  in 
by  his  scouts,  he  remarked   that    during  eighteen 
years  he  had  been  captain  of  the  watch  he  never  saw 
a  man,  either  old  or  young,  belonging  to  the  Society 
of  Fnends  ,brought  into  the  watch-house,  except  only 
i«  one  solitary  instance;  and,  on   investigation,   it 

20 


230 


REMINISCENCES    OF 


turned  out  that  he  was  seized  on  by  mistake,  and 
was  discharged  immediately. 

And  these  are  the  mild,  peaceful  and  unassuming 
mortals  whom  the  pilgrim  fathers  saw  fit  to  perse- 
cute even  unto  death.  Having  themselves  fled  from 
persecution  in  England,  and  thus  having  learned  the 
art,  they  thought  they  would  try  their  hand  on  their 
peace-loving  neighbors  the  Quakers.  I  wonder  not 
at  their  burning  the  ugly  old  women  for  witches  ; 
for,  if  fame  speaks  true,  the  Yankees  are  mighty 
fond  of  the  young  and  the  bonnie  onest  and  may  be 
they  resolved  in  town  meeting  that  no  other  should 
flourish  on  their  soil;  and  I  verily  believe  this 
must  be  the  fundamental  reason  why  there  are  so 
many  honnie  lasses  about  the  Lowell  factories  at  the 
present  day. 


Romanoe  in  Real  I<lfe* 

No.  1. 

"  'Tis  time  that  you  should  take  a  wife, 
"  A«  real  partner  in  your  life." 

"Married,  on  Tuesday,"  (not  last,)  *'by  Rev.  Wm. 
Ask,  tThos.  Mowitt  and  Charlotte  Conroy,  both  of 
this  city." 

The  above  marriage  was  consummated  in  this  city 

on  last  TllASrlnv  ixroolr-— ^r\«v»^  ,.^«~ , j  *i i  *  . 

^ ^ — ^  TTvv« — »v»i4c  jcais  agu^  uiiu  uiureuy 


GRANT   THORBUBN. 


231 


ke,  and 

Bsuming 
>  perse- 
ed  from 
•ned  the 
Dn  their 
ider  not 
vitches  ; 
mighty 
may  be 
•  should 
jve  this 
i  are  so 
s  at  the 


(V.  Wm. 
both  of 

this  city 
thereby 


hangs  a  tale  of  the  marvellous.  Mr.  Mowitt  was  a 
respectable  shoemaker,  who  kept  several  men  era- 
ployed,  and  among  the  rest  was  John  Felsing,  who 
had  ingratiated  himself  so  much  in  his  favor  by  his 
faithfulness,  industry  and  sobriety,  that  he  took  him 
in  partnership  about  three  years  since,  and  had  no 
cause  to  regret  his  kindness.  From  that  time  Mr. 
Mowitt  and  Mr.  Pelsing  were  constant  friends  and 
companions,  and  boarded  in  the  same  house,  until 
about  twelve  months  ago,  when  one  day  they  were 
subpoBnaed  on  a  Coroner's  jury,  about  to  be  held  over 
the  body  of  a  man  that  had  been  taken  out  of  the 
river  at  the  foot  of  Maiden-lane.  The  deceased  had 
all  the  appearance  of  haying  been  a  regular  dock 
loafer,  and  it  was  the  opinion  of  all  present  that  he 
had  fallen  into  the  slip  while  in  a  state  of  intoxica- 
tion ;  but  the  verdict  which  was  presently  given  was 
merely  "  Found  drowned." 

The  jury  being  dismissed,  Mr.  Mowitt  turned  round 
to  look  for  his  friend  and  fellow  juror,  who  had  been 
at  his  side  till  that  moment;  but  he  was  gone,  and 
he  thought  he  saw  him  running  at  full  speed  up  Maiden- 
lane.  This  struck  him  as  being  curious,  and  also  re- 
minded him  of  another  curious  fact — at  least  curious 
as  connected  with  his  sudden  flight — namely,,  that 
when  Mr.  Pelsing  had  first  glanced  at  the  face  of  the 
corpse,  he  started  and  turned  deadly  pale.  Mr.  M. 
then  proceeded  to  his  boarding-house,  and  thence  to 
the  store  to  look  for  his  partner,  but  he  had  not  been 
to  either,  nor  did  he  return;  and  nothing  could  be 


232 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


n 


heard  of  or  from  him.  Mr.  M.  gave  up  all  further 
inquiries,  thinking  there  must  have  been  some  myste- 
rious connection  between  Mr.  Pelsing  and  the  man 
that  was  found  drowned;  and  that  in  consequence 
thereof  Mr.  Pelsing  had,  in  all  probability,  made 
away  with  himself. 

So  matters  rested  till  a  certain  day  last  summer, 
when  a  lady  called  on  Mr.  Mowitt  at  his  store,  and 
asked  for  Mr.  Pelsing.  She  was  told  the  particulars 
ot  his  story. 

"And  has  he  not  been  here  since  1"  she  inquired. 

"Not  since,"  was  the  reply. 

"I  know  he  has!"  returned  the  lady. 

"He  has  not,  I  assure  you— at  least  not  to  my 
knowledge,"  replied  Mr.  Mowitt. 

^'But  I  am  positive !"  said  the  lady. 

^*  What  proof  have  you  of  it  V '  inquired  Mr.  M. 

"The  best  in  the  world!"  returned  the  lady  "for 
I  am  here,  and  Mr.  Pelsing  and  myself  are  one  and 
the  same  person !" 

And,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  such  was  the  fact. 

The  question  then  was,  whether  Mr.  Pelsing  was  a 
gentleman  or  a  lady;  and  it  turned  out  that  she  was 
a  lady,  and  that  her  name  was  Charlotte  Conroy;  and 
furthermore,  that  she  was  the  widow  of  the  man' who 
was  found  drowned.  She  then  stated  that  her  husband 
was  a  shoemaker  in  Philadelphia ;  that  she  had  been 
two  years  married ;  that  her  husband,  whose  name 
was  Conroy,  took  to  drinking  and  treated  her  badly ; 
having  no  children  she  usfld  to  a^on^  k«^  i^:«.,_i 


■^^j.-,.  .^.Mi^i^'-^^^.^.-^ 


GRANT   THORBTJRN. 


233 


hours  sitting  by  and  stitching  shoes  for  her  husband 
intending,  as  soon  as  she  could  finish  a  shoe,  to  leave 
the  drunken  man  and  work  her  way  through  the  world 
alone.    Having  equiped  herself  in  men's  clothes,  she 
left  her  lord  and  master  and  soon  arrived  in  New- 
York.     Her  success  as  journeyman,   foreman  and 
partner,  we  have  seen  above.    As  soon  as  the  Coron- 
er's  inquest  was  finished,  she  started  for  Philadelphia, 
where  she  learned  that  her  husband— who  had  be- 
come a  wandering  loafer— had,  a  week  before,  set  out 
for  New- York,  where,  instead  of  finding  an  injured 
wife,  he  found  a  v/atery  grave. 

The  finale  of  this  romantic  affair  was,  that  Mr. 
Mowitt  requested  Mrs.  C.  to  make  his  house  her 
home;  and  finding  that  he  loved  Mrs.  Conroy  even 
better  than  Mr.  Pelsing,  he  proposed  a  partnership 
for  life,  which  treaty  was  ratified  by  their  becoming 
man  and  wife  in  a  few  days  thereafter. 

This  is  perhaps  the  first  instance  on  record  wherein 
a  wife  performed  the  oflice  of  a  Coroner's  juryman 
on  the  body  of  her  own  husband.  The  lady,  by  the 
way,  is  very  goodl-ooking,  and  still  on  the  safe  side 
of  thirty. 


20* 


234  XEMIMI8CBNCES   OF 

Rom«n«»  In  Real  Lift. 

No.  a. 

"  From  Suaquehannah'i  utmost  springs, 
'*  Where  sav«f  e  tribes  pursue  tlieir  game, 

"  His  blanliet  tied  with  yellow  strings, 
"  A  shepherd  of  the  forest  came."— Fkbnxav. 

Having  spent  an  hour  in  company  with  the  hero- 
ine of  this  story  on  the  day  of  her  arriral  in  New- 
York,  and  being  privy  to  some  of  the  facts,  1  think 
they  are  worth  preserving. 

On  a  certain  fine  Sabbath  evening  we  were  wit- 
nesses of  an  incident  equally  interesting  and  painful. 
Many  people  have  denounced  Shakespeare's  Othello 
as  too  unnatural  for  probability.  It  can  hardly  be 
credited  that  such  a  fair,  beautiful  and  accomplished 
woman  as  Desdemona  is  represented  to  have  been, 
could  have  deliberately  wedded  such  a  blackamoor  as 
Othello ;  but  if  we  ever  entertained  any  incredulity 
upon  the  subject,  it  has  all  been  dissipated  by  the 
occurrence  of  which  we  are  about  to  speak. 

About  two  years  ago,  an  Indian  of  the  Chippewa 
nation—formerly  said  to  have  been  a  man  of  some 
rank  among  his  tribe,  but  now  a  missionary  of  the 
Methodist  Church  among  his  red  brethren—was  sent 
to  England  to  obtain  pecuniary  aid  for  the  Indian 
mission  cause  in  Upper  Canada.  What  was  his  na- 
tive cognomen— whether  it  was  "Red  Lightning," 
"Storm  King,"  or  '*  Walk-in-the- Water,"— we  know 


tr\f\t-  I 


«w.,,  wwfc  in  j^iaiii  iiuguBii  iio  is  jKnowTi  as  reter  Junes. 


m 


"n~pf 


GRANT   THORBURN. 


235 


V. 


the  liero- 
1  in  New- 
ts, I  think 

were  wil- 
id  painful. 
3's  Othello 
hardly  be 
oraplished 
lave  been, 
kamoor  as 
ncredulity 
Bd  by  the 

• 

Chippewa 
n  of  some 
iry  of  the 
—was  sent 
he  Indian 
as  his  na- 
ightning," 
■we  know 
iter  Junes. 


An  Indian  is  a  rare  spectacle  in  England.  Poets  and 
romancers  have  alike  invested  the  primitive  sons  of 
the  American  forest  with  noble  and  exalted  charac- 
teristics, which  are  seldom  discernible  to  the  duller 
perceptions  of  plain  matter-of-fact  people,  and  which 
English  eyes  could  alone  discover  in  the  hero  of  the 
present  story.  But  no  matter.  Mr.  Peter  Jones  was 
not  only  a  missionary  from  the  wilderness,  and,  we 
doubt  not,  a  pious  and  useful  man  among  his  own  peo- 
ple, but  he  was  a  bona  fide  Indian,  and  of  course  was 
made  a  lion  of  in  London.  He  was  feasted  by  the 
rich  and  the  great;  carriages  and  servants  in  livery 
awaited  his  pleasure  and  bright  eyes  sparkled  when 
he  was  named ;  he  was  looked  upon  as  a  great  chief 
-—a  prince— an  Indian  King;  and  many  young  ladies 
who  had  never  passed  beyond  the  sound  of  Bow- 
bells,  dreamed  of  the  charms  of  solitude  amid  the 

great  wilds — "the  antres  vast  and  desolate  wilds" 

of  the  roaring  of  the  mighty  cataracts  and  the  bound- 
ing of  buffaloes  over  the  illimitable  prairies — of  noble 
chieftains  leading  armies  of  plumed  and  lofty  war- 
riors, dusky  as  the  proud  forms  of  giants  in  t  vilight 
— of  forays  and  stag-hunts,  and  bows  and  arrows,  and 
the  wild  notes  of  the  piercing  war-hoop  in  those  hal- 
cyon days  when,  unsophisticated  by  contact  with  the 
pale  face, 

"Wild  iu  wouds  the  noble  savage  ran," 

and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  as  Matthews  would  most 
unpoetically  have  wound  offs  uch  a  flourishing  sentence. 


"I 
t: 


^^^  REMINISCENCES  OF 

"  In  crowd*  tb«  ladiei  to  hit  leveea  ran— 

"  All  wished  to  gnze  upon  the  tawny  man  f 

••  Happy  were  those  who  saw  his  atatwly  itridji— 

"  Thrice  happy  thoae  who  iripp'd  it  at  hia  side."     • 

'     Among  Others  who  may  have  thought  of  kings'  bar- 
baric pearls  and  gold,  was  the  charming  daughter  of 
a  gentleman  of  Lambeth,  near  London,  of  wealth  and 
respectability  J  but  she  thought  not  of  wedding  an 
Indian,  even  though  he  were  a  great  chief,  or  half  a 
king-not  she!    But  Peter  Jones  saw,  or  thought  he 
saw^for  Indian  Cupids  are  not  blind-that  the  lady 
had  a  susceptible  heart.     Availing  himself,  therefore 
of  a  rido  with  this  fair  creature,  he  said  something  to' 
her  which  she  then  chose  not  to  understand,  but  told 
It  to  her  mother.    He  also  sought  other  opportunities 
of  saying  similar  things,  which  the  damsel  could  not 
comprehend -ie/brc  ;*m— but  she  continued  to  re- 
peat them  to  her  mother.    Peter  sought  an  interview 
with  the  mother,  but  it  was  refused  j  he  repeated 
the   request,   but   was  still   refused,  although  in  a 
less  positive  manner.    Finally  an  interview  was  grant- 
ed him  with  the  mother,  the  result  of  which  was,  that 
before  Jones  embtrked  on  his  return  tr   his  native 
woods,  it  was  ag.  >ed  that  they  might  l.eathe  .heir 
thoughts  to  each  other  across  the  water  on  paper 
Thus  was   another  point  gained.    But-to  make  a 
long  story  short-a  meeting  was  agreed  upon  to  take 
place  m  this  city  with  a  view  of  marriage.    The  idea 
is  very  unpleasant  with  us  of  such  ill-sorted  mixtures 
of  colors;  but  prejudices  against  red  and  dusky  skins 
are  not  so  strong  in  Europe  as  they  are  here:  the--' 
do  not  believe  in  England  th^t        "^  "  "^ 


mmmmim. 


GRANT  THORBURN. 

" TlioM  brown  tribes  who  luuff  the  do*«rt  air, 
"Are  eoutin-formao  to  the  wolf  and  bear." 


221 


The  proud  Britons,  moreover,  when  conquered  by 
Juhos  Cffisar,  were  red  men.    What  harm  in  their 
becommg  so  again]    But  we  must  hasten  our  story. 
On  a  fine  August  morning,  a  beautiful  young  lady 
with  fairy  form,  "grace  in  her  step  and  heaven  in 
her  eye,"  stepped  on  shore  at  one  of  our  docks,  from 
the  packet-ship  United  States,  attended  by  two  cler- 
ical  friends  of  high  respectability,  who,  by  the  way, 
were  no  friends  of  her  romantic  enterprise.     She 
waited  with  impatience  for  the  arrival  of  her  prince- 
ly  lover  till  the  end  of  the  week;  but  he  came  not. 
Still  she  doubted  not  his  faith;    and  as  the  result 
proved,  she  had  no  reason  to  doubt.    On  Sabbath 
morning  Peter  Jones  arrived,  and  presented  himself 
before  his  mistress.    The  meeting  was  affectionate, 
though  becoming       d  the  day  was  passed  by  them 
together  in  the  interchange  of  conversation,  thoughts 
and  emotions,  which  we  leave  t  >  those  better  skilled 
m  the  romance  of  love  than  ourselves  tu  imagine. 

Though  n.  Chippewa,  Peter  Jones  was  nevertheless 
a  man  of  business,  and  had  a  just  notion  of  the  value 
and  importance  of  time.  He  might  have  ueard  of  the 
old  adage,  "There's  many  a  slip,"  &c.  or  of  another, 
A  bird  m  the  hand,"  &c.  but  that  matters  not.  He 
took  part  with  much  propriety  in  the  religious  exer- 
cises of  the  John-street  Church  where  he  happened 
to  be  present,  which  services  were  ended  at  nine 

O  clock    liv    n-n     im«>*.<-vr.<,^..^     ?^_,'  n    —         •> 

-,       ---    **«^ic=oivc    icciCtttiua    01    liie    juord's 


REMINISCENCES   OF 

Prayer  in  the  Chippewa  dialect.  Stepping  into  the 
house  of  a  friend  near  by,  we  remarked  a  very  unu- 
sual ingathering  of  clergymen  and  divers  ladies  and 
gentlemen.  We  asked  a  reverend  friend  if  there  was 
to  be  another  religious  meeting  there. 
"No,"  he  replied,  "it  is  a  wedding." 
A  wedding!"  we  exclaimed  with  surprise.  "Pray, 
who  are  the  parties'?" 

"Peter  Jones,  the  Indian  missionary,"  he  replied, 
"and  a  sweet  girl  from  England !" 

It  was  then  evident  to  our  previously  unsuspecting 
eyes  that  au  unwonted  degree  of  anxious  and  curious 
interest  prevaded  the  countenances  of  the  assembled 
group.    In  a  short  time  chairs  were  placed  in  a  sus- 
picious position  at  the  head  of  the  drawing--   om,  their 
backs  to  the  pier-table.  A  movement  was  next  percep- 
tible at  the  door,  which  instantly  drew  all  eyes  to  the 
spot;  and  who  should  enter  but  the  same  tall  Indian 
whom  we  had  recently  seen  in  the  pulpit,  bearing  upon 
his  arm  the  light,  fragile  and  delicate  form  of  the  young 
lady  before  mentioned,  her  eyes  dropping  modestly 
upon  the  carpet  and  her  face  fair  as  a  lily.   Upon  their 
entrance  a  distinguished  clergyman  rose  up  and  ad- 
dressed the  parties  upon  the  subject  of  marriage— its 
propriety,  convenience  and  necessity  to  the  welfare 
of  society  and  human  happiness.    This  brief  and  per- 
tinent address  being  ended,  the  reverend  gentleman 
stated  the  purpose  for  which  the  couple  had  presented 
themselves  and  demanded  if  any  person  or  persons 

l^reSe^t    C^^l^       aVmiXr      /lailOA      IxrVlir     tVlA      ■r\-r»r\-,-^n.a^A       n-.-^X^^ 

i  —       -  --        -T       «,.,.^,jj-^,       yy  ^.  -       till**       iJl.'^  \J\Jt2Xi\i        *Jiiil\Jlit 


if^-'t" 


fgtfSfir' 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


239 


Uliii^ji 


should  not  take  place  :  if  so,  they  were  requested  to 
make  their  objections  then,  or  for  ever  after  hold  their 
peace.    A  solemn  pause  ensued;  but  nothing  was 
heard  save  a  few  smothered  sighs.   There  they  stood, 
the  objects  of  deep  and  universal  interest— indeed, 
we  may  add  of  commiseration.    Our  emotions  were 
tremulous    and  painful.     A   stronger  contrast  was 
never  seen.    She  was  dressed  in  white  and  adorned 
with  the  sweetest  simplicity;  her  face  as  white  as  the 
dress  and  gloves  she  wore,  rendering  her  ebon  tresses 
—placed  a  la  Madonna  on  her  fair  forehead— still 
darker.  He  in  rather  a  common  attire,  a  tall,  dark,  high- 
boned,  muscular  Indian;  she  a  little,  delicate  European 
lady.     He  a  hardy  son  of  the  forest;  she  accustomed 
to  every  luxury  and  indulgence— well  educated,  ac- 
complished and  well  beloved  at  home— possessing  a 
handsome  income-leaving  her  comforts,  the  charms 
of  civihzed  and  cultivated  society,  and  sacrificing  them 
all  for  the  cause  she  had  espoused.    The  fair  damsel 
was  now  ajout  to  make  a  self-immolation,  and  far 
away  from  country  and  kindred  and  all  the  endear- 
ments  of  a  fond  father's  home,  to  resign  herself  into 
the  arms  of  a  man  of  the  woods  who  could  not  appro- 
ciate  the  sacrifice.    A  sweeter  bride  we  never  saw  • 
we  almost  grew  wild.    The  remembrance  of  Othello 
of  Hyperion  and  the  Satyr,  and  the  bright-eyed  Hin- 
doo and  the  Funeral  Pile,  now  flashed  across  our  mind 
with  renewed  horror.    She  looked  like  a  drooping 
flower  beside  a  rugged  hemlock!  and  we  longed  to 
"iterpose  ana  rescue  her.    But  it  was  none  of  our 


^      !■: 


I 


240. 


BEMINISCENCE3  OF 


business;  she  was  in  the  situation  by  choice,  and  was 
among  her  friends. 

The  ceremony  went  on.  She  promised  to  "  love, 
honor,  and  obey"  the  Chippewa;  and  all  tremulous 
as  she  stood,  we  heard  the  Indian  and  herself  pro- 
nounced "  man  and  wife !"  It  w:as  the  first  time  we 
ever  heard  those  words  sound  hateful  to  our  ears. 
All,  however,  knelt  down  and  united  with  the  cler- 
gyman in  a  prayer  for  blessings  upon  her,  that  she 
might  be  sustained  in  her  undertaking,  and  have 
health  and  strength  to  endure  her  destined  hardships 
and  privations.  The  room  resounded  with  the  deep- 
toned,  heartfeU,  and  tearful  response  of  "  Amen." 
The  audience  then  rose,  and  after  attempting,  with 
moistened  eyeS;  to  extend  their  congratulations  to 
the  happy  pair,  slowly  and  pensively  retired.  In  a 
few  days  the  sweet  creature  was  on  her  way  to  the 
wilds  of  Upper  Canada — the  Indian's  bride! 

Sur.h  is  the  history  of  a  case  of  manifest  and  pal- 
pable delusion.  Peter  Jones  cannot  say  with  Othello, 
that  "  she  loved  him  for  the  dangers  he  had  passed." 
The  young  lady  was  not  blinded  by  the  trappings  of 
military  costume,  or  the  glare  of  martial  glory  ;  but 
she  was  a  very  pious  girl,  whose  whole  heart  and 
soul  had  been  devoted  to  the  cause  of  heathen  mis- 
sions, and  she  thus  threw  herself  into  the  cause,  and 
resolved  to  love  the  Indian  for  the  work  in  which  he 
was  engaged. 

For  our  own  part,  we  must  say  we  wish  he  had 


^V7JSSi.    V&V/SBwU 


i^    ^^iaacaio.      Afut. 


yilC     UiC     ia     wOSb. 


ce,  and  was 

d  to  "  love, 
1  tremulous 
herself  pro- 
rat  time  yre 

0  our  ears, 
th  the  cler- 
ler,  that  she 
,  and  have 
d  hardships 
h  the  deop- 
r  "  Amen." 
ipting,  with 
tulations  to 
jtired.   In  a 

way  to  the 
de! 

est  and  pal- 
ith  Othello, 
ad  passed." 
Tappings  of 
glory ;  but 
heart  and 
eathen  mis- 

1  cause,  and 
n  which  he 

vish  he  had 

•         •  *.  If 


GRANt   THORBURN. 


241 


and  the  late  comely  and  accomplished  Miss  F ~ 

of  London,  is  now  the  wife  of  Peter  Jones,  of  the 
Chippewas.  But  that  she  was  deluded,  and  knew 
nothmg  of  the  life  she  was  to  encounter,  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  As  an  evidence  of  this,  she  brought  out 
furniture  sufficient  for  an  elegant  household  estab- 
hshment.  China  vases  for  an  Indian  lodge!  and 
lurkey  carpets  to  spread  on  the  morasses  of  the  Ca- 
nadian forest !  Instead  of  a  mansion  we  fear  she 
found  the  wigwam;  and  the  manufacture  of  brooms 
and  baskets  instead  of  embroidery. 

In  lustice  to  the  witnesses  of  the  scene,  however, 
It  >per  to  state  that  a  few  of  her  real  friends  iii 

this  city— those  into  whose  immediate  society  she 
was  cast— labored  diligently  to  open  her  eyes  to  the 
real  state  of  the  case,  and  the  life  of  hardship  and 
trial  whi-^  .,he  was  inevitably  destined  to  lead.  Poor 
girl !  we  he  was  by  her  father  in  Lambeth,  sin- 

gle,  and  r  Jones  preaching  to  the  Chippewas, 

with  the  prettiest  squaw  among  them  for  his  wife. 
It  may  be  satisfactory  to  the  reader,  however,  to' 
be  informed,  that  Mrs.  Jones  is  now  living  in  a  very 
comfortable  framed  house,  within  thirteen  miles  of 
Toronto,  Upper  Canada,  with  a  family  of  three  or 
four  little  ones  about  her,  seemingly  contented  and 
happy,  assisting  her  husband  in  his  labors  of  love 
among  their  Indian  neighbors. 


21 


|; 


i 


242 


BEMINISCENCES   OF 


Tradition*  of  iUe  IVar  of  American  Independence* 

Extract  from  the  Journal  of  a  Britith  Officer. 


THEDESERTEB. 

* 

*'  The  men  who,  on  the  battled  plain  and  raging  flood, 
*'  Went  forth  to  vindicate  the  right,  their  blood 
"  Pour'd  forth  like  water,  that  they  might  maintain 
"  Of  truth  and  honor'd  purity  the  reign." 

Buring  the  summer  of  1780,  when,  in  spite  of  the 
failure  of  Burgoyne's  expedition,  hopes  were  still 
entertained  of  a  successful  termination  of  the  strug- 
gle, it  was  customary  for  certain  galleys  and  other 
armed  vessels  to  keep  guard  in  the  channel  of  the 
North  River,  as  far  from  the  out- works  of  New- York 
as  Elizabethtown  Point  in  one  direction,  and  King's 
Bridge  in  another.  It  chanced  upon  a  certain  day, 
in  the  month  of  September,  that  two  of  these  vessels 
lay  at  single  anchor  about  four  miles  from  the  vil- 
lage of  Bergen.  They  had  been  stationed  there  ever 
since  the  news  of  Andre's  capture  reached  us; 
whether  with  the  view  of  facilitating  his  chance  of 
escape,  or  as  a  point  of  communication,  I  know  not ; 
but  in  either  case  they  had  achieved  but  little,  when 
on  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  September  an  event 
occurred  which  relieved  the  crew  for  a  moment  from 
the  tedium  of  a  profitless  watch.  It  was  about  nine 
o'clock  of  this  morning  that  the  look-out  seaman 
called  the  attention  of  one  of  the  officers  to  what 
was  passing  on  shore.  The  officer  immediately 
turned  his  glass  in  the  specified  direction  and  beheld 


GRANT  THORBITRN. 


243 


endenc«« 


.d, 


>ite  of  the 
were  still 
;he  strug- 
md  other 
I  el  of  the 
^ew-York 
nd  King's 
rtain  day, 
se  vessels 
n  the  vil- 
here  ever 
ched  us; 
chance  of 
now  not ; 
tie,  vtrhen 
an  event 
nent  from 
30ut  nine 
t  seaman 
3  to  vehat 
mediately 
ad  beheld 


coming  from  Bergen  a  single  horseman,  who  rode 
as  If  for  life  and  death,  and  was  directed  toward  the 
river.    He  was  dressed  in  the  well-known  uniform 
of  Lee's  Legion-one  of  the  best  equipped  and  most 
efiicient  corps  in  the  American  service— and  his  va- 
lise being  strapped  at  the  croop  of  the  saddle,  and 
his  sword  hung  by  his  side,  it-was  evident  that  some 
cause   more   urgent   than   caprice   drove    him    on. 
When  first  discovered,  he  was  in  the  act  of  rounding 
a  corner  in  the  woods,  so  as  to  enter  upon  a  broad 
and  straight  road  which  had  been  cut  through  their 
centre,  and  leading  directly  to  the  water's  edge,  or 
rather  to  the  edge  of  a  reedy  swamp  which  at  this 
particular  point  girded  in  the  Hudson,  and  branch- 
ing off  to  the  right  and  left,  followed  up  and  down 
the  tortuosities  of  the  stream. 

The  horseman  rode  furiously  on  till  he  had  left  the 
comer  of  the  wood  about  three  hundred  yards  be- 
hmd,  when  he  suddenly  pulled  up.    He  then  un- 
buckled his  valise  and  strapped  it  across  his  shoul- 
ders, unslung  his  sword,  drew  out  the  weapon,  and 
cast  the  scabbard  and  belt  from  him,  and  casting 
trom  time  to  time  an  anxious  glance  to  the  rear, 
seemed  to  brace  himself,  as  it  were,  for  some  des- 
perate hazard;   nor  did  many  minutes  elapse  ere  the 
cause  of  his  apparent  anxiety  became  manifest.    His 
preparations  were  m  yet  incomplete,  when  a  party 
ot  dragoons,  perhaps  twelve  or  fourteen  in  number 
made  their  appearance,  rounding  the  same  angle 
„-.,„  „^,^,,  ,,^  „^^  emerged,   iiiey  were  too  far  dis- 


244 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


tant  to  permit  the  sound  of  tbeir  voices  to  be  heard, 
but  nothing  could  be  more  remarkable  than  the  effect 
produced  on  all  parties  by  so  sudden  a  recognition. 

The  fugitive  plunged  his  spurs  into  the  flanks  of 
his  charger  and  set  off  again  at  the  top  of  his  speed. 
The  troopers  pressed  their  animals  in  renewed  ex- 
ertion ;  and  the  latter  being,  as  it  seemed,  more  fresh 
than  the  former,  the  distance  between  them  was 
certainly  not  increased ;  on  the  contrary,  they  gained 
upon  him  so  fast  that  when  he  reached  the  margin 
of  the  swamp  not  more  than  sixty  or  seventy  yards 
divided  them. 

A^d  now  the  seamen,  who  had  watched  the  pro- 
ceedings with  feelings  not  unlike  those  which  are  ex- 
perienced by  the  spectators  of  a  coursing  match, 
found  themselves  called  upon  to  play  a  part  in  this 
strange  drama.  The  fugitive  threw  himself  from  his 
saddle,  rushed  into  the  morass,  and  shouting  aloud 
for  help,  made  at  once  for  the  water's  edge.  Pressed 
as  he  was,  moreover,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  plunge 
into  the  river  and  to  strike  out  lustily  toward  the 
anchorage.  In  a  word,  he  was  a  deserter ;  and  as 
both  policy  and  justice  required,  it  became  neces- 
sary to  afford  him  every  facility  of  escape.  Accord- 
ingly both  vessels  opened  a  fire  of  grape  upon  the 
dragoons,  and  a  boat  was  likewise  pushed  off  which 
soon  picked  up  the  swimmer,  and  conveyed  him 
safely  on  board  of  the  nearest  galley.  Having  given 
his  name  and  assigned  the  common  reason  for  such 
dishonorable  conduct  as  his — that  is,  that  he  had  been 


GRANT   THORBITEN. 


245 


9  heard, 
he  effect 
)gnition. 
Sankf*  of 
s  speed, 
wed  ex- 
►re  fresh 
em  was 
y^  gained 
margin 
ty  yards 

the  pro- 
b  are  ex- 
r  match* 
I  in  this 
from  his 
ig  aloud 
Pressed 
»  plunge 
^ard  the 
;  and  as 
e  neces- 
Accord- 
ipon  the 
flf  which 
yed  him 
ng  given 
for  such 
had  been 


ill  treated  by  his  officers,  and  was  weary  of  so  bad  a 
service— he  expressed  a  wish  to  be  passed  on  to 
New- York ;  and  he  was  immediately  sent  forward 
in  a  row-boat,  under  an  escort,  with  a  letter  from 
the  captain  testifying  to  the  manner  of  his  arrival. 

There  were  many  circumstances  which  concurred 
at  this  time  to  give  every  individual  instance  of  de- 
sertion more  than  its  common  interest  in  the  eyes  of 
the  commander-in-chief.    In  the  first  place,  his  cor- 
respondence with  Gen.  Arnold  had  led  him  for  some 
time  to  believe  that  much  dissatisfaction  prevailed 
in  Washington's  army.   In  the  next  place,  the  failure 
of  Arnold's  plot,  and  the  arrest  of  Andr^,  rendered 
him  peculiarly  sensitive,  and  induced  him  to  listen 
with  credulous  anxiety  to  every  tale  or  rumor  which 
might  tven  seem  to  confirm  hopes  which  had  in  re- 
ality no  foundation.    The  fugitive  was  consequently 
conducted  to  head-quarters,  where  he  was  closely  in- 
terrogated as   to  the   disposition  of  the  American 
troops,  and  above  all,  concerning  the  tempers  of  cer- 
tain officers,  of  whose  fidelity  to  the  Republican 
cause  our  chiefs  had  learned  to  think  lightly.    The 
new  comer  was  honored  with  a  private  interview, 
during  which  he  underwent  a  long  and  rigid  exami- 
nation.   Of  this  examination   nothing  was   known, 
except  that  its  result  was  highly  favorable  to  the  de- 
serter.   The  general  spoke  of  him  publicly  as  an  in- 
telligent and  prudent  person,  and  made  no  secret  of 
his  wish  to  enlist  talents  so  valuable  into  the  service 


of  h 


lis  fin'''P'*f»icrn. 


21 


246 


KSMINISCBNCE8   OF 


this  proposition.  He  professed  to  be  tired  of  war, 
and  reminded  Sir  Henry,  not  unfairly,  that  from  the 
moment  he  assumed  the  king's  uniform  he  put  a 
halter  around  his  own  neck.  But  the  importunities 
of  those  in  power  at  length  prevailed,  and  he  consent- 
ed to  accept  the  same  rank  in  the  royal  army  which 
he  had  borne  in  the  army  of  the  States.  He  was 
accordingly  attached  to  a  corps,  of  which  Arnold 
took  the  command,  conposed  exclusively  of  native 
Americans,  most  of  whom  were  deserters;  and 
being  strongly  recommended  to  Arnold,  as  well  by 
his  own  personal  demeanor  as  by  the  commander-in- 
chief,  he  became  an  orderly-sergeant  in  that  offi- 
cer's family. 

Time  passed  on,  and  the  melancholy  news  arrived 
that  neither  entreaties  nor  threats  of  retaliation,  nor 
offers  of  exchange,  had  availed  to  save  the  life  of 
Andre.  He  died  a  traitor's  death.  It  was  a  hard 
case.  Washington,  to  be  sure,  offered  to  exchange 
Andre  for  Arnold,  but  this  they  could  not  do.  There 
was  general  lamentation  throughout  the  ranks,  min- 
gled with  an  eager  longing  for  revenge,  in  which  no 
man  appeared  more  earnestly  to  participate  than 
Gen.  Arnold.  And  partly  with  the  view  of  indulg- 
ing the  humor,  and  partly  to  effect  a  diversion  in 
favor  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  then  actively  engaged  in 
the  Carolinas,  it  was  determined  to  send  Arnold's 
legion,  together  with  a  few  battalions  of  British  re- 
gulars, on  an  expedition  to  Virginia.  This  resolu- 
tion, which  was  come  to  at  a  late  hour  or  the  nisrht. 


I 


d  of  war, 
I:  from  the 
he  put  a 
tortunities 
e  consent- 
my  which 
,  He  was 
h  Arnold 

of  native 
tars ;  and 
s  well  by 
lander-in- 

that  offi- 

V8  arrived 
ation,  nor 
the  life  of 
as  a  hard 

exchange 
lo.  There 
inks,  min- 

which  no 
pate  than 
of  indulg- 
iTersion  in 
ngaged  in 
[  Arnold's 
British  re- 
lis  resolu- 
the  night. 


GRANT  THOBBURN. 


f47 


was  announced  early  next  morning  in  general  or. 
ders;  and  the  order  itself  was  obeyed  with  such  re- 
markable promptness,  that  the  men  went  on  board 
without  having  time  to  make  any  preparations  what- 
ever, yet  the  transports  lay  at  their  moorings  for 
many  days  ;  nor  was  it  until  late  in  October  that  the 
troops  made  good  their  landing,  and  opened  a  brief 
and  profitless  campaign  on  the  shores  of  the  Chesa- 
peake. I  often  thought  that  the  States  had  more 
friends  than  foes  among  certain  officers. 

Fortune  so  ordered  that  there  was  given  to  me— - 
then  a  very  young  man— a  company  in  Arnold's  le- 
gion, and  that  the  deserter  John  Champe  was  at- 
tached to  it.    I  found  him  to  be,  as  others  had  repre- 
sented, a  remarkably  intelligent  person.    At  first,  in- 
deed, he  proved  singularly  grave  and  taciturn  ;  nay, 
his  manner  appeared  at  times  to  indicate  so  much  of 
moroseness   and  ill-humor,  that  I  could  not  avoid 
harboring  a  suspicion  that  he  already  repented  of  the 
step  he  had  taken.    But  having  been  warned  of  the 
reluctance  which  accompanied  his  enlistment,  I  took 
no  notice  of  his  humor ;  and  as  I  treated  him  through- 
out as  kindly  as  circumstances  would  allow,  I  flatter- 
ed myself  that  I  had  at  last  succeeded  in  gaining  his 
confidence.  It  is  true  that  he  never  evinced  a  symp- 
tom of  cheerfulness,  and  bis  dark  and  saturnine  com- 
plexion  seemed  to  mark  him  as  a  man  naturally 
thoughtful,  perhaps  designing,  yet  he  was  a  gpjjd 
soldier  in  his  outward  appearance  at  least,  and  I  put 
full  confidence  in  him.    Hnw  fo..  •««  «.. *_-..• 


248 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


had  or  had  not  been  well  founded  an  opportunity 
of  determining  was  never  afforded,  inasmuch  as,  the 
second  night  after  the  disembarkation,  Sergeant 
Champe  disappeared.  He  was  souglit  far  and  near. 
His  arms  and  knapsack  weie  found,  but  no  one  had 
seen  him  quit  the  lines;  yet  he  was  gone;  and  ne- 
ver again,  during  the  remainder  of  the-  war,  was  so 
much  as  a  trace  of  him  discovered. 

At  last  peace  camo ;  and  I,  having  married  into  a 
respectable  Republican  family  in  Virginia,  received 
permission  to  remain  in  the  country  atter  my  regi- 
ment had  quitted  it,  for  the  purpose  of  settling  my 
affairs.    I  was  journeying  for  this  purpose  through 
Loudon  county,  attended   by   a  single  servant,  on 
horseback,  when,  toward  the  close  of  a  summer's 
day   I   found   myself  unexpectedly    brought  to   a 
stand-still  by  the  occurrence  of  three  roads  leading 
as  many  different  ways.    As  there  was  no  board  or 
sign-post  erected  for  the  guidance  of  travellers,  I 
felt  as  a  stranger  so  circumstanced  i§  apt  to  feeka 
good  deal  puzzled.  I  looked  to  the  heavens,  but  ^d 
not  succeed  in  ascertaining,  by  any  sign  afforded 
there,  in  which  direction  I  ought  to  turn.    After  he- 
sitating some  time,  I  finally  struck  into  one  of  the 
paths  which  appeared  to  be  somewhat  more  inviting 
than  the  rest,  and  followed  it  for  a  while,  if  not  with- 
out misgivings,  at  all  events  in  good  hope  that  I  had 
done  right.    But  the  road  began  by  degrees  to  twist 
and  turn,  carrying  me  deeply  into  the  heart  of  a  for- 
est ;  and  the  night  was  coming  on,  with  every  ap- 


GRANT  TIIORBTTRN. 


249 


aortunity 
:h  as,  the 
Sergeant 
ind  near, 
one  had 
and  ne- 
p,  was  80 

sd  into  a 
received 
my  regi- 
:ling  my 

through 
vant,  on 
ummer's 
ht  to   a 

leading 
board  or 
ellers,  I 
>  feehm 

but  did 
afforded 
fter  he- 
3  of  the 

inviting 
ot  with- 
at  I  had 
to  twist 
3f  a  for- 
gery ap- 


pearance of  a  thunder-storm.  I  began  to  grow  im- 
patient  and  uneasy,  and  pressed  my  jaded  beast  into 
a  trot.  But  we  had  made  very  little  progress  when 
darkness  closed  around  us-darkness  so  dense  that 
to  discern  objects  at  a  yard's  distance  was  impossi- 
ble  I  What  was  now  to  be  done  ?  I  called  my  ser- 
vant to  consult.  We  finally  concluded  to  remain 
where  we  were  ;  and  having  fastened  our  horses  to 
a  huge  tree,  we  sat  down  with  our  backs  against  its 
trunk.  ° 

We  had   not  yet   finished   our  preparations  for 
spendmg  the  night  under  this  tree,  when  the  rain  be- 
gan  to   descend   in  torrents;     the   thunder   rolled 
through  the  woods  like  a  thousand  cannon  firing  in 
platoon,  and  the  blaze  of  lightning  was  almost  inces- 
sant.    I  turned  round  in  endeavoring  to  find  a  bet- 
ter shelter,  but  had  scarcely  done  so  when  I  beheld, 
by  a  flash  of  lightning,  an  opening  in  the  forest,  at 
the  extremity  of  which  stood  a  house  surrounded  by 
a  patch  of  cultivated  ground.    We  untied  our  horses 
and  guided  by  the  lightning  began  to  advance  with 
the  utmost  caution.    We  tad  not  proceeded  many 
yards  ere  our  course  was  stopp.  d  by  a  deep  ravine 
m  front ;  and  the  roaring  of  the  water  indicated  that 
It  was  traversed  by  a  river  of  no   inconsiderable 
force.    I  gave  my  horse  to  the  servant  and  set   out 
alone.    Having  reached  the  margin  of  the  river,  with 
the  lightning  for  a  lamp,  I  found  it  traversed  by  a 
rude  bridge.   I  made  toward  it,  and  committing  my- 
self to  the  care  of  a  kind  Providfinc«-  rTa^^^A  ^«1« 


pw^^ 


mmmm 


-  '"'"■^  * "  "J^'lii'  TW'l^  ^^W 


250 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


Upon  my  hands  and  knees.  I  found  myself  in  an 
open  field,  in  which  was  a  log-house  with  some  rude 
out-building9  clustered  about  it.  As  the  inmates 
were  moving  about  in  the  house,  my  cries  soon  at- 
tracted their  notice,  and  they  hastened  to  render 
every  assistance.  The  door  was  immediately  opened, 
and  a  man  hurried  out  with  a  torch  in  each  hand, 
who  requested  me  to  lead  in  the  direction  where  I 
had  left  the  horses.  My  new  acquaintance  crossed 
the  bridge,  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour  returned 
with  man  and  horses,  both  wet  and  weary. 

If  the  exertions  of  the  stranger  had  been  worthy 
of  praise,  his  hospitality,  now  the  danger  was  over, 
fully  corresponded  with  them.  He  could  not  allow 
master  or  man  to  touch  the  horses,  but  insisted  that 
we  should  enter  the  house,  where  a  fire  and  changes 
of  raiment  awaited  us.  He  himself  led  the  jaded 
animals  to  a  shed,  rubbed  them  down,  and  provided 
them  with  forage.  It  would  have  been  affectation  of 
the  worst  kind  to  dispute  his  pleasure  in  this  in- 
stance ;  so  I  readily  sought  the  shelter  of  his  roof,  to 
which  a  comely  dame  made  me  welcome,  and  busied 
herself  in  preventing  my  wishes.  Our  drenched 
clothes  were  soon  exchanged  for  suites  of  my  host's 
apparel,  and  we  soon  found  ourselves  seated  by  a 
blazing  fire,  by  the  light  of  which  our  hostess  laid 
out  a  well  stocked  supper-table.  I  need  not  say  that 
all  this  was  in  the  highest  degree  comfortable.  Yet 
I  was  not  destined  to  sit  down  to  supper  without 


»  ^/-t^v-^'x     ^-'tE^SJ.r^,' 


TTV?iiv:-_i  , 


OBANT  THORBDRN.  jjjj 

In  due  time  our  host  came  in,  and  the  first  dance 
I  caat  toward  him  satisfied  me  that  he  was  n„  stran- 
ger; the  second  glance  set  every  thing  like  d  ubt  at 
rest,    bergeant  Champe  stood  before  me  ! 

I  cannot  say  that  my  sensations  on  rec(  .nizinc  mv 
ci-devant  sergeant  were  altogether  agroable.  The 
mysterious  ma  ,ner  in  which  he  both  came  and  went 
-the  success  with  which  he  bad  thrown  a  veil  over 
his  movements-and  •!.«  recollection  that  I  was  the 
guest  of  a  man  wh-     vai.     f  rather  doubtful  princi- 
pies  excited  in  ™,      va,  e  and  undefined  alarm, 
which  I  found  u  .mp.  x!K,,  on  the  instant  to .  ,nceal. 
I  started,  and  the   movement   was   not  lost  „p„„ 
Champe.   lie  examined  my  wee  closely,  and  a  lieht 
appearing  to  burst  in  all  at  once  URon  his  memm^y 
he  ran  toward  the  spot  where  I  sat,  exclaiminR— 

"Welcome,  welcome.  Captain  Cameron  !  You  are 
a  thousand  times  welcome  to  my  roof.    You  beha- 
ved  well  to  me  while  under  your  command,  and  de- 
serve more  hospitality  than  I  possess  the  power  to 
give ;  but  what  I  do  possess  is  at  your  service  :      ,d 
happy  am  I  that  Providence  has  brought  us  together. 
You  have  doubtless  looked  upon  me  as  a  two-fold 
traitor,  and  I  cannot  blame  you,  yet  I  wish  to  stand 
well  in  your  est  mation,  and  will,  if  you  please,  give 
a  faithful  narration  of  the  causes  which  led  to  nly  ar- 
nval  in  New- York,  and  to  my  abandonment  of  the 
British  army    But  you  are  tired,  from  your  journey. 
Ea  and  drink,  I  pray  you,  and  having  slept  soundly 
on  the  morrow  I  will  endeavor  to  n1,t  „,,.  .y.-      7' 


mi.  ax 


mmm. 


mmm 


252 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


in  an  honorable  light  in  the  estimation  of  the  only 
British  officer  of  whose  good  opinion  I  am  covetous.** 

I  found  my  host  the  next  morning  the  same  open, 
candid  and  hospitable  man  that  he  had  shown  himself 
on  first  recognizing  me.  At  breakfast  he  made  no  al- 
lusion to  our  conversation  of  the  previous  evening; 
but  when  he  heard  me  speak  of  getting  our  horses 
ready,  h**  begged  to  have  a  few  minutes*  conversa- 
tion with  me  ;  upon  which,  taking  a  seat  beside  me, 
he  began  : 

"  You  remember  under  what  circumstances  I  came 
te  you  in  New- York.  I  came  as  a  deserter ;  but,  sir, 
I  was  no  deserter !  Mine  was  a  deed  unusual,  I 
allow,  and  most  suspicious  in  its  coloring ;  but  it  was 
performed  not  only  with  the  sanction  of  Gen.  "Wash- 
ington, but  at  his  positive  desire  !  Listen,  and  I  will 
tell  you  all,  sir. 

"  You  will  be  at  no  loss  to  imagine  that  the  disco- 
very of  Arnold's  treason  created  a  great  sensation 
throughout  our  army.  No  man  could  trust  his  bro- 
ther. That  the  general  shared  in  this  uneasiness,  all 
ranks  acknowledged ;  but  the  extent  to  which  this 
feeling,  on  his  part,  was  carried,  remained  a  secret  to 
all,  till  to  me,  and  me  alone,  it  was  communicated.  I 
will  tell  you.  how  this  happened,  at  least,  how  I  my- 
self came  to  be  honored  with  Washington's  con- 
fidence. 

**  While  Arnold  and  your  commander-in-chief 
were  carrying  on  their  infamous  correspondence, 
our  army,  as  you  doubtless  recollect,  occupied  a  po- 


f  the  only 
;ovetou8.'* 
ime  open, 
'n  himself 
ade  no  al- 
1  evening; 
)ur  horses 
conversa- 
»eside  me, 

:es  I  came 
;  but,  sir, 
unusual,  I 
but  it  was 
an.  Wash- 
and  I  will 

the  disco- 
;  sensation 
Jt  his  bro- 
isinesB,  all 
which  this 
a  secret  to 
nicated.  I 
low  I  my- 
ton's  con- 

er-in-chief 
pondence, 
pied  a  po- 


<MIANT  TflORBtTHW.  353 

whi  t"  '^'  r^'^^^'y  "^  '^Wan.    Lee's  legion,  of 
otJZT"  «^^^-°^--J-^  held  the  oftpost! 

turned  to  me  and  solicited  my  attenttn        ""'  ^'^" 
fh.^  ir.r^^'     '""'^  ^^'  'y^^  ^^^'-^eJy  need  be  told 

cause  I  am  coniident  that  none  is  needed ! ' 

could  l^fK-""'  ""^ '«?"««'.  *at  whatererman 
a«Xt'°^'''""'-'"^^-"^-'^--''J«W 

"'Hear  me  out,'  said  he,   'knd  say  if  you  are 

er  m-ch.ef ;  for  I  am  but  a  medium  of  communica- 
tion  between  Washington  and  youraelf.  """""=*■ 
"  *  You  are  aware,'  he  continued,  'of  the  distre.. 
«g  consequences  of  Arnold's  tieason-oftetnS,  v 
and  m«g,ving  which  it  occasioned  throughout  ,h^ 
army— and  th«  n^rii  ;«f«  ,..u:-i.  ..  ,  "^"oui:  tiie 
._  ^-,..,  ,„,„  „„,y„  jj.  __^  brought  the 


mmmmm 


254 


WMHMMMiai 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


life  of  the  English  Major  Andre.  You  cannot,  how- 
ever, know  till  I  inform  you  how  the  general  is  af- 
fected by  it.  I  have  had  with  him  to-day  a  long  and 
deeply-interesting  interview,  in  which  he  showed  me 

letters  from  and  of New- York,  both  of 

which  represented  the  plot  as  widely-extended.  The 
defection  of  Arnold  has  so  shaken  the  confidence  of 
Washington  in  certain  officers,  that  he  knows  not 
whom  to  trust.  This  he  told  me  to-day  with  a  flushed 
cheek  and  choking  voice.  And  he  added,  that  it  was 
necessary  some  tinisty  person  should  pass  to  New- 
York,  and  bold  verbal  intercourse  with  the  infor- 
mants, and  sift  the  whole  to  the  bottom.  But  he  does 
not  intend  that  the  services  of  his  agent  shall  end 
here.  If  Arnold  could  be  seized  and  brought  back  to 
camp,  not  only  might  Andre's  life  be  saved,  but  there 
would  be  given  such  an  example  as  would  for  ever 
deter  all  American  officers  from  playing  the  part  of 
traitors.  *  I  am  sure,  Major  Lee,'  continued  the  com- 
mander-in-chief *  you  can  find  among  your  gallant 
fellows  the  very  person  of  whom  I  stand  in  need.*  I 
accepted  the  proposal ;  and,  Champe,  I  named  you 
as  the  man.  Are  you  ready  to  earn  immortal  honor 
for  yourself,  and  to  do  the  country  a  most  important 
service  by  carrying  through  this  delicate  and  hazard- 
ous scheme  for  your  general  V 

"  '1  hanked  the  major  for  the  good  opinion  he  en- 
tertained of  me,  and  repeated  my  readiness  to  at- 
tempt any  thing  which  should  not  imply  disgrace. 
But  I  begged  respectfully  to  be  spared  the  disgrace- 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


255 


ful  brand  of  Deserter.  Suffice  it  to;say  I  was  persuade 
ed.   1  he  rest  you  know. 

"I  will  now  inform  you  that  I  succeeded  in  the 
first  part  of  my  mission,  regarding  the  suspicions 
thrown  out  against  certain  officers,  to  the  entire  satis- 
taction  of  the  commander-in-chief.    The  suspicions 
were  groundless.  The  plan  to  seize  Arnold  was  fully 
matured,  and  every  arrangement  promised  a  success- 
ful  termmation.  The  night  of  the  3d  of  October  was 
fixed  upon  for  the  completion  of  our  project ;  but 
that  same  morning,  as  you  remember,  we  were  or- 
dered to  embark,  without  a  moment's  notice.    Thus 
our—for  I  iiad  two  confederates— well-laid  plans  to 
carry  off  the  traitor  were  frustrated. 

"  After  our  disembarcation  in  tlie  Chesapeake,  re- 
flectmg  that  the  objects  of  my  mission  were  at  an  end, 
I  took  the  first  opportunity  to  leave  Arnold's  legion' 
for  every  man  of  whom-yourself  only  excepted— 
I  entertam  the  most  sovereign  contempt.    I  arrived 
at  head-quarters  shortly  thereafter,  and  had  a  private 
interview  with  the  commander-in-chief.  He  express- 
ed  himself  highly  satisfied  with  the  manner  in  which 
I  had  acquitted  myself  in  that  delicate  affair.    I  offer- 
ed to  join  the  army  again,  but  this  he  would  not  per- 
init.    '  For,'  said  he,  '  should  any  mishap  throw  you 
mto  the  hands  of  the  British,  you  would  be  hung  as  a 
spy,  traitor  or  deserter.'  He  then  gave  me  a  full  and 
honorable  discharge,  accompanied  with  a  purse  heavy 
enough  to  buy  and  stock  this  farm,  on  which  I  live  in 
peace  and  happiness  with  the  Darfnf.r  nf  rr»..  i ^-  » 


=-"-?'w*j"iii. 


.  »-■'« 


256 


RF.MINISCBNCES   OP 


He  now  brought  out  his  own  horse  along  with  that 
of  my  own  and  servant's,  and  rode  a  few  miles  in  com- 
pany  with  us,  to  put  us  upon  the  right  path,  from 
which  we  had  wandered.  We  part:ed  with  the  warm- 
est  wishes  for  each  other's  happiness  both  in  time  and 
in  eternity. 


Solomon  and  the  ^ueen  of  Sheba. 

"The  cheek  will  lose  its  'gaudy  shade,' 
"  The  lustre  of  the  eye  must  fade ; 
"  The  mlad  and  heart  immortal  bloom 
"  Beyond  the  precincts  of  the  tomb." 

I  recollect  a  pretty  story,  which,  in  the  Talmud  or 
Gemara,  some  Rabbin  has  attributed  to  Solomon. 

At  the  foot  of  the  throne  stood  the  queen  of 
Sheba ;  in  each  hand  she  held  a  wreath  of  flowers  ; 
the  one  composed  of  natural,  the  other  of  artificial 
flowers.  Art  in  the  labor  of  the  mimic  wreath  had 
exquisitely  emulated  the  living  hues  and  the  vanega- 
ted  beauties  of  nature :  so  that,  at  the  distance  it 
was  held  by  the  queen  for  the  ihspection  of  the 
king,  it  was  deemed  impossible  for  him  to  decide- 
as  her  question  imported— which  was  the  natural 
and  which  the  artificial.  The  sagacious  Solomon 
seemed  posed  j  yet,  to  be  vanquished,  though  in 
a  trifle  by  a  trifling  woman,  irritated  his  pride- 
by  the  by,  this  was  not  the  first  time  he  had  been 


GRANT  THORBDRN. 


with  that 
8  in  com- 
ath,  from 
le  warm- 
time  and 


257 


ilmud  or 
>mon. 
leen  of 
flowers ; 
artificial 
3ath  had 
variega- 
itance  it 

of  the 
ecide — 

natural 
Jolomon 
)ugh  in 
pride — 
id  been 


quizzed  by  the  ladies,— the  son  of  David— he  who 
had  written  treatises  on  the  vegetable  productions 

from  the  cedar  to  the  hyssop,'  to  acknowledge  him- 
self  outwitted  by  a  woman,  with  shreds  of  papers 
and  glazed  paintings !    The  honor  of  the  Monarch's 
reputation   for  divine  sagacity  seemed  diminished ; 
and  the  whole  Jewish  court  looked  solemn  and  mel- 
ancholy.   At  length  an  expedient  presented  itself  to 
the  king ;  and  it  must  be  confessed,  worthy  of  the 
Natural  Philosopher.     Observing  a  cluster  of  bees 
hovering  about  a  window,  he  commanded   that  it 
should  be  opened ;  it  was  opened  ;  the  bees  rushed 
mto  the  court  and  lighted  immediately  on  one  of  the 
wreaths,  while  not  a  single  one  fixed  on  the  other. 
I  he    decision   was   not  then  difficult:  the  learned 
Rabbins  shook  their  heads  in  rapture,  and  the  baffled 
:Mieba  had  one  more  reason  to  be  astonished  at  the 
wisdom  of  Solomon. 

This  would  make  a  pretty  poetical  tale.  It  would 
yield  an  elegant  description  and  a  pleasing  moral- 
that  the  bee  only  rests  on  the  natural  beauties,  and 
never^m  on  the  painted  flowers,  however  inimita- 
bly the  colors  may  be  laid  on.  This,  applied  to  the 
ladies,  would  give  it  pungency. 


22' 


9M 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


'M^he  Blldflle  Dutch  Chv*  v(t;l|. 


••Trt  spare  thee  now  is  pa«t  my  power, 
"  'I'hou  bonnie  gem."—.. — 

In  a  brief  paragraph  yesterday  momiirg,  we  spoke 
of  the  ceremonies  which  rook  place  at  the  Middle 
Dutch  Ohurc^h  on  Sunday  evening,  upon  die  cccasion 
of  ^-xm  final  withdrawing  of  tlxe  congregation  from 
tht,  vv^iitmbie  I  le,  and  its  being  about  to  become 
the  ij'nv  pcst-office. 

A.^  .7  ?  have  already  said,  the  church  was  full  to 
overfiowing.  Circumstances  of  iniirest  will  always 
draw  together  in  New-York  a  large  number  of 
persons. 

The  exercises  were  commenced   with  a  psalm, 
which  was  accompanied  by  the  organ,  and  executed 
with  solemnity  by  the  choir.   A  chapter  in  the  Bible 
was  read  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Knox.    The  Rev.  Dr.  De 
Witt  then  prayed,  and  in  a  most  feeling  and  elo- 
quent manner  returned  thanks  to  the  Almighty  for 
the  protection  he  had  vouchsafed  to  the  church  and 
congregation  for  so  many  years—for  the  good  ex- 
amples set  by  its  deceased  fathers,  for  the  prosperi- 
ty which  had  attended  that  denomination  of  Chris- 
tians, and  for  the  many  streams  which  had  flowed 
from  it  as  a  fountain-head. 

Dr.  Knox  then  preached  from  tJ^-  Gospel  of  St. 
John,  takii^  those  passages  frori  d  «»  fnnrth  nh^r^t^J 


we  spoke 
le  Middle 
:*  cccaaion 
tion  from 
>  become 

as  full  to 
11  always 
mber    of 

a  psalm, 
executed 
:he  Bible 
r.  Dr.  De 
and  elo- 
ighty  for 
urch  and 
jood  ex- 
jrosperi- 
)f  Chris- 
1  flowed 

j1  of  St. 

r»nnrkf  £•»• 


OBANT  THORBURN.  269 

StmllSt*'  "«"%"«—  °-  Savior  and 
tne  woman  of  Samaria  at  Jacob's  well.  The  particu- 

-  H;nhrFX?wh^  '™^  -"' we™  sCa 

titv  i^hl  ' ,       T'"''^'  '"■^^'^  *«^«  ^'^  "0  sane- 

sertafon  on  the  Spirit,  and  elueidated  iij^  ta 
character  as  displayed  in  humanity.  showW  hTw 

:rs:d.^"ihrrrthTth?sor"'^^^/^^^^^^ 

this.  "'  ^"^  evident  from 

A  brief  sketch  of  the  church  about  to  be  closed 

The  discussion  was  concise  and  well  written  t}.« 

The  Rev.  Dr.  De  Witt  followed  in  a  brief  addr«.« 
vrbch  seemed  to  come  from  his  inmost  soul    it^' 
pea«  from  the  statements  made  by  him    ^at  Z 
bufldmg  was  commenced  in  1726    anH^^      I  } 
wcT^h-.r.  ,v  ,^oQ  „  ,    .       .  ^'■'°'  and  opened  for 


260 


REMINISCENCES    OF 


which  were  first  erected.  At  the  beginning  it  had  no 
gallery;  two  doors  were  on  the  west  side,  and  the 
pulpit  was  on  the  east.  For  the  first  thirty  years  the 
Dutch  language  had  been  exclusively  employed  in 
its  services,  and  fi^r  some  years  subsequently  was 
used  one  half  the  time  with  the  English. 

A  large  number  of  clergymen,  all  of  them  able 
and  devoted  men,  had  officiated  there,  who  now 
slept  with  their  fathers,  and  others  of  the  connec- 
tion who  had  succeeded  them,  and  whose  praise 
was  in  all  the  churches,  still  survived. 

The  venerable  building  had  thus  passed  through 
many  and  great  changes  of  government,  of  laws, 
'and  language,  and  thousands  of  redeemed  souls 
had  there  in  times  past  worshipped  the  Father  in 
spirit  and  in  truth.  Some  passages  of  this  address 
were  highly  touching  and  eloquent,  and  drew  tears 
from  many  eyes. 

Had  it  been  possible,  said  Dr.  De  Witt,  to  have 
retained  a  congiegation  in  that  part  of  t^e  town,  the 
building  would  not  now  be  forsaken  ;  but  the  com- 
mercial improvements  which  were  constantly  occur- 
ring in  this  great  commercial  city  had  occasioned  a 
great  change  of  residence,  and  scarcely  any  of  the 
former  worshippers  in  that  house  remained  behind. 
An  opportunity  had  now  offered  of  disposing  of, 
for  a  time  at  least,  the  venerable  building,  without 
doing  the  structure  any  essential  injury,  and  with- 
out disturbing  the  hallowed  remains  which  rested  in 
the  vaults  around. 


it  had  no 
,  and  the 
i^ears  the 
loyed  in 
itly   was 

em  able 

i^ho  now 

connec- 

e  praise 

through 
of  laws, 
d  souls 
ather  in 
address 
w  tears 

to  have 
►wn,  the 
he  com- 
r  occur- 
iioned  a 
f  of  the 
behind, 
sin^  of, 
without 
3  with- 
ested  in 


,     GRANT   THORBURK.  ggj 

Dutch  :fttte%c:roTi^V"  '="^'"'  -^ 

-rda  pronounced  frot  ^e  p  ,ptt  ^ '  ,*«  I"' 
been  the  firat  }^«,n«  *u       i   I'^'F"*  as  tney  had  also 

of  the  fatSr^a'd^        '  ''^''^-''f  ■»  *«  I'-guage 

We  believe  one  fact  connected  wit),  ,i,-    i.  •, ,. 
"»  not  generally  know.     In^^  T  ''"''*"« 

thelsteeple  was  str^rV    r  u    •  """^  ^^^^  "*« 
but  some  reslltfj  ^X  J'ffhtning  and  took  fire, 

and  sor  iT^dZT  '"'^  "^°"«''  *«>  -!-<"« 

p;re  it!  ^jio^rfcLt""^"'  '^»  -- 

reception.  "  *""  "'^  Prepared  for  its 


Vwehaao  or  New. York  ta  1»74. 

•         .         ,     "The  race  of  yore 

■■  Ho.  Ikey  .„  u„„^  ,^*,j^  _^'.__^^  ^  ^^ 

oth'eVCm;::!??,  '"-- ^^  ^y  s-p-book  the 
dum.    The Tr  ^^  ^  "P°"  *"  ^°"°^'"ff  ""emoran- 

fou^dintere      ;%rir:t.tr  '°'""  ^"  "« 

Importing  Merchant  ^filSfr""  f^' ''^ 
of  1774,'75  •  ^ew-lTork  during  the  yeara 

-,  MX — .,  ^-v«uc,  vreorge  iionne,  Thomas 


'^rtfi'di' 


i 


u« 


262 


REMINISCENCES    OF 


Buchanan,  Walter  Buchanan,  William  Butler,  Samuel 
Broome,  John  Broome,  Jam«  3  Beekmaii,  Joseph  Bull, 
Derick  iirinckarijoof,  Ever  at  Brancker,  Richard 
Brancivtjr,  .Da-viu  Beekman,  Benjamin  Booth,  Garret 
Beok  'ian,  sen.  Garret  Beekman,  jun.  Henry  Brevooit, 
Gerardus  Beekman,  Everet  Byvanch,  Isaac  Corsa, 
Comeiius  Cloper,  Pe^^-  r^-,r)Gr,  Peter  T.  Curtenius, 
Elias  Desbrossus,  J  ames  Desbrossus,  William  Down- 
ing, Abraham  Duryee,  Gerardus  Dinking,  Thomas 
Ellison  ;  Walter,  John,  Samuel,  James,  and  Thomas 
Franklin;  George  Folloitt,  Gilbert  Forbes,  Edward 
Gould,  Ennis  Graliam,  Patrick  Gorlat,  Joseph  Hal- 
lett,  Nicholas  Hoofman,  Andrew  Hamersby,  Henry 
Haydock,  Ebenezer  Hazard,  Jacob  Leroy,  Jacob 
Lcfferts,  Francis  Lewis,  Gabriel  H.  Ludlow,  William 
Ludlow,  Isaac  Low,  Nicholas  Low,  Ger/,v^e  Ludlow, 
Philip  Livingston,  Edward  Laight,  Robert  Murray, 
Jamea  Morton,  Charles  McEvers,  Thomas  7ore, 
Peter  Messier,  William  Nelst  n.  Garret  Not  ,  Jere- 
miah Piatt,  Daniel  Phoenix,  James  ^arr  ns,  Thomas 
Pearsall,  Lewis  Pinrird,  John  J.  Roosevelt,  Alexan- 
der Rol  (Qson  &  Co.  lenry  TJamsen,  Thorn  ;  Rand- 
all, John  Reade,  Richard  Ray,  Johu  Ray,  amuel 
Ray,  Isaac  Soars,  Comfort  Sands,  Christopher  Smith, 
Solomon  Simpson,  James  Seagrove,  Oliver  Temple- 
ton,  Williani  W.  Stick,  Henry  Van  Vleek,  ^atrick 
Vandevoort,'Jaco^  Var  Voorliis,  Samu«  ,  Ver  anck, 
Jacobus  Vanzand'  a  onv  Van  D  m,  John  ^  ander- 
belt,  Hubert  Van  W  c<,^ner,  Hei  White,  Huge 
Wallace,   John   Watts,   Jacob  Watson,   Alexander 


Br,  Samuel 
•sephBulI, 
,  Richard 
th,  Garret 
Brevoort, 
lac  Corsa, 
Curtenius, 
am  Down- 
j,  Thomas 
a  Thomas 
8,  Edward 
seph  Hal- 
by,  Henry 
oy,  Jacob 
r,  William 
3  Ludlow, 
t  Murray, 
Eus  :)ore, 
0(  ,  Jere- 
3,  Thomas 
t,  Alexan- 
nas  Rand- 
ff  amuel 
ler  Smith, 
•  Temple- 
k,  Patrick 
er  ianck, 
n  %  ander- 
te,  Hrge 
\lexandei 


GRiNT      HORBURN. 


2G3 


nil.  j;:rr;:  rr  :it  '^^z  ' 

not  of  them  '"  ^  perceived  it 

I  tS:rr„teTe™  air  TT  -^  "«  '''«•'' 

to  carry  ,nto  execution  .he  non^™portl  _  ! 
ment;  and  he  was  also  the  last  survivor  of  a  cl„ 

the  Jiattle  of  Lexington-the  last  survivor  of  Twen 
ty-on  .  members  of  the  Provincial  Congress  chle'' 
m  November    1775-and  the  last  su^vor  of   h" 
Comm«,ee  of  Safety,  chosen  in  December,  1775 

I  knew  h,m  in  1794     I  think  he  held  an  ofBce  i„ 
"     .    ''°™:H°r,:t  that  time,  which  was  kept  in  a 

Zl  '"''''"^.  '"  MiU-street.  The  memory  of  this 
jeer.  ^„,,  ,^  .^^  ^^  ^^^^  J    t   h,s 

aft'  e  ^.  at  conflag,-ation,  I  believe  is  blotted 
ou.  a.^  He  records  of  this  changeable  city  Thf 
<.nlj  public  monument  to  this  sturdy  patriot  k  to  b! 
found  on  the  walls  of  every  comer-housr  t  S^<^ 
*eet,  Brooklyn.    I  .now  of  no  monument  ' '    W 

to,  and  of  course  lo  t.m.  tn  attend  to  our  own     W« 

fri:toT'V°  """'^"■"=^'  -^T^g.  and  sympathTz 

1  M  «  ;  '"  '"'"^  '^'"  ^      ^^^  '°  become  free 

-^e  could  find  mo,   ,- (if  Mike     'alsh  sne»Ic,  ,,„!! 


264, 


REMINISCENCCS   OP 


to  send  the  Mobiles  and  Dorrites  to  sink,  bum,  and 
destroy  Providence—we  can  And  money  for  the  buy- 
ing of  fuel  to  keep  the  Irish  Repeal  pot  boiling,  and 
to  help  King  0*Connel  to  live  sumptuously  every 
day,  with  ^is  crimson  cloak  and  scarlet  crown, 
•queezing  the  last  herring  from  the  peasant's  child, 
and  compelling  them  to  live  on  salt  and  potatoes 
alone — we  can  find  money  in  New- York  for  all 
th-^se  things,  but  none  to  raise  a  Monument  to 
Washington. 

Thus  has  the  world  been  gulled  for  sixty-six  years 
pMt.  First  it  had  Wilkes  and  Liberty,  Lord  George 
Gordon  and  Popery,  in  England,  Sacheverell  and  th© 
Bishops,  Burdett,  Hunts,  Cobbett,  O'Connell,  &c.  all 
political  swindlers,  and  full-blooded  tyrants  as  far  as 
their  little  brief  authority  went.  Some  of  them  I 
knew  personally.  And  we  ourselves  have  a  pretty 
parcel  of  political  quacks,  gouging  the  flats  and 
living  on  the  fools ;  speaking  greats  welling  words 
— ^like  a  Kentucky  stump-orator — and  promising  men 
Liberty,  while  they  themielves  are  the  slaves  of  the 
DeviL  * 


I 


burn,  and 
r  the  buy- 
iling,  and 
sly  every 
>t  crown, 
nt's  child, 
potatoes 
k  for  all 
iiment  to 

-six  years 
d  George 
n  and  the 
ill,  &c.  all 

as  far  as 
f  them  I 

a  pretty 
flats  and 
ig  words 
ising  men 
e»  of  the 


«IIANT  THORBUIIW.  205 


Prom  tks  LvDdom  Moroioff  IlaraM. 
A.  Bone  to  Ona-«v. 

He  Ilk  d  the  venluot  hilki  ond  flowory  plaiw. 
"  Nor  lik'd  ka  iMi  III.  ,enl,.  of  tks  laoj." 

There  was  among  us  here  in  London  some  short 
time  ago  a  queer  little  man,  by  name  Grant  Thor- 
burn ;  who  though  he  for  many  years  of  bis  boyhood, 
as  he  himself  tells  us,  swallowed  half  a  pint  of  snails 
boiled  m  new  milk  with  a  due  proportion  of  oatmeal 
for  his  breakfast,  yet  his  height  was  ouh  four  feet 
ten  tnche,,  and  his  weight  not  more  than  ninetyeight 
pounds;  and  yet  he  became  an  object  of  dread  to  the 
Wntish  government  as  one  of  "the  friends  of  the 
people; '  the  founder  and  proprietor  of  a  very  pros- 
perous seed-store  in  New-Yorkj  the  father  of  many 
talented  and  fine  grown  young  men  and  women ; 
and  the  veritable  original  from  whom  Mr.  Gait  took 
his  notion  of  "Laurie  Todd  J"  in  fine,  the  Grant 
Thorburn  who  was  raised  in  bonnie  Scotland,  located 
m  Yankee-land,  immortalized  in  Fraser's  Magazine 

l'h'T,  u°""""  """"'y-  i-'heye^rofour 
Lord  1833.  He  was  poking  about  here  among  all 
sorts  of  parties  and  public  places  for  many  months; 
he  was  looked  upon  generally  in  all  parties  whither- 

m  A-  '^^"'.  '^  "  '  ™"y  considerably  interesting, 
though  dimmutive  Lion,  and  he  published  his  bio- 
graphy   m  one  volume  small 


taxrr* 


23 


't     rTii,u.    a    iiiii 


266 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


ength  #^yof  his  own  peculiar  person  enveloped 
m  all  Its  manifold  and  many-folded  double-milled 
woollen  envelopements. 

Since  that  time  the  queer  little  man  has  wandered 
back  again  across  the  wild  Atlantic,  to  his  seed-store 
m  New-York;  and  there  overhauling  his  note-book 
and  recollections,  he  has  published  an  account  of 
what  he  saw  amongst  us,  and  his  own  opinions  there  ■ 
upon,  under  the  queer  title  of  "  Men  and  Manners  in 
Britain~or  a  Bone  to  Gnaw  for  the  Trollopes  and 
Fiedlers."  Much  of  what  he  saw  evidently  met  with 
his  most  cordial  approval,  mixed  with  a  pretty  con- 
siderable  modicum  of  genuine  admiration. 

The  general  post-office  and  its  vast  machinery  ex- 
cited his  wonder-he  calls  it  "one  of  those  tremen- 
dous concerns  with  which  this  world  of  a  city  alounds  » 
The  custom-house  he  says   is   another  mammoth 
concern;   ^nd   after  noticing  with  astonishment  its 
magnitude  and  its  multitude  of  clerics  and  tide  wait- 
ers,  he  adds-- They  have  a  comfortahle  arrange- 
mmt  here  :~just  as  the  clock  struck  one  I  observed 
a  number  of  small  boys  come  in  with  four  raw  oys- 
ters  and  a  piece  of  bread  on  a  plate,  and  set  it  down 
on  the  desk   by  each  clerk;  and  I  thought  this  was 
preterable  to  running  out  to  an  eating-house."    No 
doubt  he  did ;  for  it  was  founded  on  the  verv  prin- 
ciples  upon  which  he,  the  outcast  son  of  a  poor  nail- 
er   became  a  wealthy  citizen--viz.  a  saving  of  Urne 
and  pence.    Republican  and  economist  as  he  is,  he 
nevertheless  mentions  with  particular  laudation  the 


BRANT  TnoRBITEN. 


267 


cept  foi  bad  behavior,   and  that  when  they  have 
Ll  ^       ''"^ngement.    But  in  ^^enc«  (ho 

his  t'7f  'r''""''^'^"^'''^'  no  matter  though 
hn.  goods  have  been  pillaged,  his  dwelling  burnfd 
and  h,s  w.fe  and  children  driven  to  look  for  shel 
through  the  freezing  s„ow  of  a  winter's  ni^ht  no 
matter  though  he  has  served  the  public  withii^; 
and  honesty  smce  h.s  appointment  in  the  days  of 
Washmgton ;  no  matter  though  his  salary  is  barely 
suffic,ent  to  keep  soul  and  bpdy  togetherfhe  is  re"^ 

/aomfe  This  .s  a  pretty  considerable  unkind  cut 
at  the  best  of  all  possible  republics,  by  one  of  hre 
specially  adopted  and  most  republican  children- 
and  It  IS  the  more  unkind  for  being  too  true 

In  reference  to  the  many  charities  of  the  British 
metropolis,  he  says:  "I  saw  nothing  in  London  that 
pleased  me  so  much  as  the  charitable  benevolent  in- 
stitutmns;  and  then  having  enumerated  the  hos- 
pitals and  schools,  and  the  var  sums  voluntarily 
given  for  their  maintenance,  he  adds  :— 

"But  independent  of  these  sixteen  thousand  chil- 

dren  who  are  fed,  clothed  and  taught,  you  may  see 

forty  thousand  Sunday  scholars  every  Sabbath  picked 

-^    .^^.1^   j,iicii  are  nrty-tsix  thousand 


268 


REMINISCENCES  OF 


I 


children,  who  might  otherwise  be  prowling  about 
this  mighty  Babylon  and  learning  the  road  to  the 
gallows,  snatched  as  it  were  from  destruction  by 
these  friends  of  Christianity,  and  their  feet  directed 
into  the  paths  of  peace  and  usefulness !" 

In  looking  at  this  statement,  which  is  rather  under 
than  over  the  truth,  we  may  see  what  a  large  amount 
of52/;ee/ is  in  London  thrown  into  the  bitter  cup  of 
human  wo.    "Never  was  there  found  in  any  of  the 
cities  in  the  world,  ancient  or  modern,  so  many  asy- 
lums for  alleviating  the  miseries  of  man  as  are  to  be 
found  in  London.    I  saw  much  in  London  to  please 
the  eye  and  instruct  the  mind,  but  nothing  gave  me 
such  a  feast  of  reason,  and  such  a  flow  of  soul,  as 
to  walk  out  just  as  the  last  bell  commenced  ringing 
on  a  Sabbath  morning,  and  to  meet  in  almost  every 
street,  at  almos'    *^very   comer,   some   free,  parish, 
some  charity  or  some  Sunday  school ;  to  see  them 
m  dresses  which  were  the  fashions  of  the  days  in 
which  their  schools  were  founded,  many  centuries 
ago ;  their   broad-skirted  long  coats  of  mixed  gray 
cloth,  their  red  jerkins,  their  buff  leather  breeches, 
their   blue   worsted    stockings,    their    well-blacked 
shoes  and  polished  brass  buckles,  and  white  bands 
under  their   chins  like  little  ministers,  all  neat  and 
clean,  hand  in  hand,  with  smiling  happy  faces,  some- 
times 500  in  a  line!" 

The  police  of  London  also  comes  in  foi  i  share  of 

his  especial  praise.    He  says 

"  I  have  heard  much  and  read   more  about  the 


f  about 

to  the 

tion  by 

lirected 

r  under 
amount 
cup  of 

of  the 
ny  asy- 
)  to  be 
please 
ive  me 
oul,  as 
ringing 

every 
parish, 
s  them 
ays  in 
ituries 
1  gray 
3ches, 
lacked 
bands 
It  and 
some- 
are  of 
it  the 


GRANT   THORBURN.  269 

wickedness   of  Londen;  about  sharpers  and  uick 

de"t?'^'T  ^f  ^'^"  ^^^^^^«'  -'^-  -^  -- 
stree?'^/^^^^^  ^"^  ^  ^^^«  ^^^^^^  in  almost  every 
soZr'         1  '^"^"'^  ^'^'^  ^^"^  ^f  ^h-  day  and  nighT 

er  received  an  uncivil  word  or  met  an  int-rrun- 

object.    I  found  the  policemen  to  be  very  obIid„/ 

"he  oHher""? ' ''''^"  accompanied  V  oL  l^ 
other  of  them,  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  show 
me  the  street  I  wanted."  '  ^ 

He  also  bestows  much  laudation  on  our  cabs  and 
omnibuses,  as  cheap  convenient  and  appendats"o 
oc,ety;  fr«m  all  which  we  may  lea^Tarhf   v  I 
not  only  m  London  but  in  luck. 

S»  far  Mr.   Grant   Thorburn's  book  is  "  all  tarfs 
and  .,.,,.,  ,,  g„^^^^^^    ^^  Barataria  U  Id 
ha^e  sa,d;  and   now  com.s  the  " /.o».,"  which  he 
hrows   orth  for  Mrs.  TroUope  and  the  Rev.  Mr  Fid 

Z^fT''  -'^r^'-'y-'  wil,  require  much 
gnavMug  before  it  can  be  swallowed  :_ 

"  Nothing  can  exceed  the  good-natured  humility 
0  many  Iad.es  and  gentlemen  of  the  British  met  1"^ 
P0.s;  for.mstead  of  employing  their  coachmen  and 
glooms  to  dnve,  they  mount  the  coach-box  or  dick 
ey  themselves,  while  the  servants  ..r.  l,...„„-„„  ,  . 


270 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


their  sides  or  lolling  within  the  carriage.  The 
coach-box  tile-d-tcte  between  ladies  and  their  grooms 
has  a  most  engaging  effect  in  the  crowded  streets  of 
London !  The  drive  in  Hyde-park,  and  that  noisy 
crowded  thoroughfare  Bond-street,  that  puppet-show 
stage  of  fashion,  presento  many  scenes  of  this  kind. 
Here  may  often  be  seen  a  femalo-flogging  driver 
(improperly  called  a  lady)  dashing  along  in  her  lof- 
ty curricle  with  one  lounging  groom  at  her  side,  and 
two  others  in  the  dickey  behind;  thereby  creating 
wonder,  fear  and  pity  in  a  gaping  multitude." 

This  is  severe  enough — if  not  particularly  true ; 
but  it  is  nothing  to  the  epigrammatic  severity  of  the 
queer  little  republican's  peroration ;  for  says  he — 

"I  believe  London  is  the  only  place  in  the  world 
where  men  and  women  of  fashion  have  raised  them- 
selves  to  a  level  with  their  coachmen  and  postillions !" 


John  Gait. 

"Unbroken  epirits,  cheer!  Btill,  still  remuisit 
"  Th'  Eternal  Patron,  Liberty  ;  whoso  flame 
"  While  she  protects,  inspires  the  noblest  strains, 
**  The '  3«t,  and  sweetest  far,  are  toil-created  gains." 

On  my  return  from  Europe  I  was  assailed  on  all 
sides,  lengthwise  and  sidewise,  on  highways  and  by- 
ways, with  the  questions,  "  Did  you  see  Mr,  Gait  ? 
Where  is  Mr.  Gait  ?  Do  you  know  a?iy  thing  of  Mr- 
Gait  ?"  Now,  (as  they  say  at  the  Hall,)  to  put  the 


GRANT  THOHBURN. 


271 


matter  for  ever  at  rest,  I  will  tell  what  I  saw,  heard, 
and  know  of  him,  and  also  (as  he  has  given  his  opi- 
nion pretty  freely  about  me)  I  will  tell  what  I  think 
of  him. 

I  saw  him  in  his  own  house,  and  a  snug  little  one 
it  was,  at  Barn  Cottage,  near  London,  in  November, 
1833;  he  looked  then  as  if  he  had  been  blown  about 
in  a  whirlwind,  having  just  escaped  from  a  violent 
attack  o£  paralysis,  or  some  such  outlandish  name 
given  by  the  doctors ;  it  was  in  the  morning,  as  they 
say  in  London,  or  eleven  o'clock  a.  m.   I  thought  he 
had  not  been  at  the  toilet,  as  he  had  not  shaved,  and 
his  hair  was  all  in  an  uproar ;  his  spirits,  however, 
were  good,  and  his  countenance  lit  up  when  he  saw 
me ;  he  said,  "  the  chirp  of  the  bird  was  not  more 
gladsome  to  the  prisoner  of  Chillon  than  my  pre- 
sence to  him  when  I  entered  his  room ;"  the  disease 
had  sunk  to  his  feet,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  he 
could  walk  from  the  fire  to  the  sofa,  but  his  mind 
was  as  bright  and  his  hand  and  hin  pen  as  quick  as 
ever ;  his  conversation  is  both  amusing  and  instruc- 
tive, and  his  plain,  honest,  broad  Scottish  tongue  sang 
like  music  in  mine  ear.    I  called  on  him  frequently ; 
he  was  always  cheery  and  seemingly  happy,  and  his 
health  was  good,  though  his  countenance  was  pale, 
the  effect  of  confinement. 

Mr.  Gait  was  b..ru  at  Irvine,  in  Scotland,  second 
of  May,  IV/:i  he  is  six  jears  younger  than  myself, 
but  I  tl«.ini,  he  looks  old  enough  to  be  my  grand- 
father. Kis  father  was  a  merchant,  and  in  pretty  good 


272 


TIEMINISCENCES   OP 


circumstances;  he  received  a  liberal  education,  al- 
though it  does  not  appear  that  he  distinguished  him- 
self at  school,  for  his  mother,  who  was  a  woman  of 
strong  mind,  used  to  say  of  him,  -  my  Johnny  is  but 
a  dull  and  sleepy  scholar."    He  entered  a  counting- 
house  in  Greenock,  where  he  continued  for  several 
years.   A  circumstance  much  to  his  praise  occurred 
at  this  period  of  his  life.    Being  eldest  son,  he  was, 
of  course,  heir-at-law;  his  father  died,  leaving  a  will 
by  which  he  intended  to  make  his  widow  independ- 
ent, but,  owing  to  some  informality,  the  property  fell 
into  the  hands  of  John,  who  instantly  executed  a 
deed  in  favor  of  his  mother,  thus  f.diilliag  the  inten- 
tions of  his  father.  In  1801  or  2  we  find  him  writing 
miscellaneous  articles  for  the  Greenock  Advertiser. 
In  a  few  years  after  he  was  engaged  in  a  mercantile 
career,  in  company  with  a  Mr.  McLaughlan,  in  Lon- 
don, which  blew  up  at  the  end  of  three  years.    In 
1809  he  was  at  Gibraltar,  in  company  with  Lord  By- 
ron and  Mr.  Hobhouse,  from  whence  they  sailed  for 
Sicily.    We  next  find  them,  like  three  old  fools,  run- 
ning aboot  the  hraes  and  burns  of  Greece,  spending 
timo  and  money  for  nothing,  for  I  cannot  find  that 
either  they  or  he  wrote  five  grains  of  common  sense 
on  the  subject,  whereby  the  public  might  be  bene- 
fited; while  at   Tripolizza  he  conceived  a  scheme 
for  forming  a  mercantile  establishment  in  the  Levant 
to  counteract  the  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees  of  Napo- 
leon—(stupendous  !)    This  castle  in  the  air,  like  the 
war-proclamations  of  Governor  Van  Twiller,  soon 


^•A^^^Sl^&i  . 


GRANT   THOEBURN. 


273 


evaporated  into  smoke.    The  first  decidedly  success- 
ful appearance  which  Mr.  Gait  made  as  an  author, 
was  m  a  series  of  articles  that  appeared  in  Black- 
wood's Magazine,  styled  -  the  Ayrshire  Legatees  ;" 
this  was  in   1820;  he  afterwards  published  "The 
Annals  of  the  Parish,"  and  other  popular  works ;  but, 
in  my  opinion,  Sir  Andrew  Wylie  was  his  c/iefd'cmvre. 
From  1824  to  '30  he  was  occupied  as  acting  manager 
and  superintendent  of  an  emigration  company  in  Up- 
per Canada,   which  appears  to  have  yielded  him  a 
thousand  pounds  per  annum.  It  appears  he  managed 
the  concern  with  a  great  deal  of  activity,   and  no 
small  success ;  the  company,  however,  did  not  pro's- 
per ;  whether  he  was  in  fault,  or  whether  the  compa- 
ny  needed  a  scapegoat,  I  know  not,  but  he  was  dis- 
charged  at  last,  in  what  appears  to  have  been  a  very 
7mrs?i  mc  n-er.    In  London  he  again  commenced  the 
busmess   o^    .,n    author,    and    in    quick    succession 
produced  seven  or  eight  successful  works.    In  the 
midst  of  these  honorr.ble  exerti.  ns  for  the  supoort  of 
his  family  and  the  dis  bu.ae  of  Kis  debts— for  both 
objects  were  in  his  view   ,  nd  the  latter,  to  a  certain 
extent,  accomplished— he  was,  in  July,  1832,  struck 
with  paralysis,  which  confined  him  to  his.  room  for 
many  months,  and  has  left  him   as  he  mournfully  ex- 
pressed it,  three  parts  dead.  From  all  I  could  discern 
in  conversation,  however,  his  mind  still  retains  its 
wonted  vigor,   which  shows  that  soul  is  superior  to 
matter;  the  boiler  of  the  steamer  may  be  smind,  but, 
if  the  machinery  gets  crazed  and  out  of  order,  it  will 


274 


HEMINISCENCKS   OF 


not  work  to  the  impulse  of  the  first  moving  cause, 
namely,  the  steam.  But  to  return  to  Mr.  Gait— he 
like  most  men  of  genius,  has  more  wit  than  money;' 
he  has  earned  large  sums,  but  knows  not  how  to  take 
care  of  it;  so  it  was  with  Walter  Scott,  and  so  it  was 
with  several  great  men  that  we  have  known  in  this 
same  State  of  New- York ;  but  all  of  them  showed 
their  honesty  by  giving  their  all  to  pay  their  debts. 
I  was  informed,  by  those  who  knew  Mr.  Gait,  while 
I  was  in  London,  that  he  had  paid  his  debts  till  he 
had  almost  made  himself  a  beggar. 
My  readers  are  aware  that  Mr.  Gait  is  now  dead. 


From  the  Boston  Courier  of  March  15,  1815. 
Diet  and  Health. 

«•  In  my  youth  I  never  did  apply 
"  Hot  and  rebellious  liquors  to  my  blood  : 
"  Tijerefore  my  age  is  as  a  lusty  winter, 
**  Frosty,  but  kindly." 

Mf/  esteemed  friend  Buckingkam-^By  the  by,  your 
name  reminds  me  of  a  story  I  heard  my  father  relate 
sixty-five  years  ago.  There's  little  doubt  but  you 
have  heard  it-but  no  matter,  a  good  story  and  a 
good  sermon  are  nothing  worse  of  being  repeated. 
Jiuckingham  was  a  deist,  Lord  Eochester  a  profligate, 
and  an  aufu'  hand  amang  the  lassies.  They  were 
walking  in  a  field  where  a  boy  was  herding  sheep ; 
coming  up,  Buckingham  accosts  the  boy  with 


RRANT   THORBUnN.  275 

My  pretty  boy,  pray  can  you  tell 
Which  is  the  nearest  way  to  hell  ? 
The  boy  replied : 

By  Rochester,  as  some  do  say  ; 
But  Buckingham's  the  nearest  way. 

year)  added  God  made  this  rebuke  th^  means  of  his 
becornxng  a  humble  christian.    But  this  is  a  digre 

0  ;     I  w  "  ™'"  """"  "'^'  '''''''^  »>«  begin!  hi. 

tSthe  ^"'"^  '".  =<=''"«-'-'&«  the  friendly  no- 

tookl  V  "^"  T  '"'  ""^^'^  '"Jvenisemenlyou 

°5,  "/  P'P'"^  '^''  "^«'''  ^"<''  f"^  fear  I  forget. 
I  will  now  request  you  to  send  me  two  copies  of  tha 

same  paper.  The  one  I  saw  was  sent  me  by  friena 

Hall  of  the  Commercial.    I  gave  it  to  my  .rrd 

o  send    :  l"T  "^"'''-i    ^  ^^""^'"-  -1"-t»  one 
^send  to  London,  and  another  to  send  to  Edin- 

SLu  S  '"  V'"  ""''  '""  '=''P'-  ■"  «-•>  a  way 

at  a'  widLr^^t^'  r  "^^^^ '  ^'"  ^-- 

Garden     A n7                 Broadway,  next  to  Niblo's 
uaraen.   And  now,  mv  frieHiI  R, „ 

think  I  have  received  m^-^^'  -   °  ^  "^  """"P"''  ^ 

H.„,^  „^  ^^,^.  ^,jjjj  mercies  of  a 


^  • 


#  « 


% 


276 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


bountiful  providence  than  falls  to  the  lot  of  most 
men.  During  fifty  years  I  have  been  in  America,  I 
have  not  been  confined  by  sickness  one  t  '.  I  have 
three  sons  and  three  daughters,  not  one  of  whom  has 
given  me  a  sore  heart;  I  have  tw  uty-six  giund- 
children,  tu^o  of  them  married.  I  am  now  in  my 
seventy-third  year;  my 'health  as  good,  ny  per .  ^nal 
feelings  as  comfortable,  and  my  heart  i  Ih^ht  aS  it 
was  when  in  my  twentieth  year.  I  read  without  spec- 
tacles. In  fact,  my  spirits  at  times  are  so  buoyant 
that  I  am  obliged  to  let  off  steam  by  \\  ritir^  some 
abstract,  unconnected  and  incoherent  ide  like 
Cobbett  and  his  pigs,  for  instance  ;  else  I  think  ^  ;^ 
times  that  the  boiler  in  my  small  carcass  would  bu  ^t 
with  pure  delight.  There  is  another  item  amoii^  i  y 
raercip«,  on  which  I  (though  old)  look  back  with  de- 
light 'hiS  is,  the  pretty  Yankee  girl  who  became  my 
wife,  wm  the  first  young  woman  in  whose  private 
coinpu  1}  I  had  spent  ten  minutes;  yes — and  the  first 
whose  lips  I  ever  tasted.  You  will  laugh  at  this ;  be 
it  so,  better  laugh  than  cry — the  merry  man  lives  as 
long  as  the  sad — so  says  Solomon ;  and  were  I  to 
begin  my  life  anew,  I  would  just  manage  my  treaty 
of  peace  with  the  lasses  after  the  same  mode  and 
form.  This  little  soul  of  ours  is  a  curious  little  ar- 
ticle ;  heart  and  flesh  may  fail ;  (though  in  my  case  I 
feel  it  not,)  yet  in  the  pleasures  of  memory  the  soul 
is  as  much  alive  in  retrospect  as  it  was  fifty  years 
ago.  In  my  mind  I  have  sometimes  compared  the 
soul  to  the  boiler,  and  the  limbs,  eyes  and  ears  to 


GRANT  THORBITRN. 


277 


f  most 
rica,  I 
I  have 
om  has 
g.and- 
in  my 
3rb  nal 
ht  j.a  it 
it  spec- 
luoyant 


-T  some 


s- 


-like 


[Soar 
d  bu   it 

oi^o  I  y 

^ith  de- 
ime  my 
■private. 
he  first 
lis ;  be 
lives  as 
re  I  to 
'  treaty 
de  and 
ttle  ar- 
r  case  I 
he  soul 
y  years 
red  the 
ears  to 


the  mach   lery ;    ^  e  machinery  wc  at  by  using, 

and  won'  answei  the  impulse  of  '  first  moving 
cause ;  yut  the  fire  and  the  steam  are  the  same ;  the 
miJi  of  eigh'^y,  whose  eyes  are  dim,  whose  ears  are 
r  'lut,  and  wiiose  arm  has  been  struck  with  palsy ;  by 
the  impulse  of  the  soul  he  may  try  to  raise  his  arm ; 
it  on't  answer  to  the  moti  ns  o  the  soul,  because 
the  machinery  of  the  arm  is  d^-p  M  *hough  the  soul 
is  as  much  alive  as  when  first  -.d  into  the  car- 

cass of  clay.  Seeing  me  as  a  ,  ively  and  young 
appearance  as  I  was  forty  rs  ago,  I  am  asked 
by  my  friends  how  I  live  1  I  never  was  drunk  in  my 
life,  d  I  never  eat  enough  ;  I  seldom  sit  ten  minutes 
at  t8  and  could  eat  as  much  more  were  I  to  sit 
till  my  appetite  was  cloyed.  But  enough  of  this  he- 
terogeneous compound.  If  your  business  call  you 
here,  I  would  be  glad  to  see  you — partly  for  pleasure 
and  partly  for  profit.  I  have  commenced  business 
anew.  I  can't  live  without  employment,  and  country 
work  is  not  to  my  taste ;  besides,  I  was  followed  in 
my  retreat  by  all  the  world  oi  fashion,  not  only  on 
the  continent,  but  many  from  Europe ;  six  pound- 
cakes and  six  glasses  of  wine  (first  cost  one  dollar) 
may  do  very  well  once  week,  but  when  it  comes 
three  times  a  day  for  '  ree  m»,nths,  it  won't  pay ;  be- 
sides, I  was  not  master  of  my  own  time  for  a  day. 
Now,  when  they  come  to  see  Niblo's  Italian  fiddlers 
and  rope-dancers,  men-singers  and  women-singers, 
live  elephants   and  monkeys,  they  can  see  Laurie 


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XEMINI8CENCE8   OF 


am  ten  thousand  dollars  lighter  than  I  was  seven 
years  ago ;  but  it  went,  neither  by  speculation,  gam- 
bling, nor  drinking,  but  purely  by  the  visitation  of 
God,  (as  the  coroners  say ;)  therefore  it  never  lost 
"ine  an  hour's  sleep. 


stocking  Knittings 

"Should  they  a  vain  show  of  wofk  assume, 
"  Alas !  and  well-a-day !  what  can  it  be  ? 
,  "To  knot,  to  twist,  to  rango  the  vernal  bloom ; 
«  But  far  are  cant  the  distbff,  *pinning -wheel,  and  loom." 

Going  up  and  down  the  canal  I  was  sensibly  struck 
With  the  unhappy  situation  of  the  lady  passengers 
durmg  our  voyage.  They  altogether  consisted  (from 
appearances)  of  traders'  and  farmers*  wives  and 
daughters  j  indeed  on  the  whole  route  I  saw  but 
one  solitary  pair  of  what  might  be  c^W^d.  fashimahhs, 
and  this  was  a  man  and  his  wife  who  had  been 
fifteen  years  married,  and  having  no  children,  but 
plenty  of  money,  were  tying  to  kill  time,  tod  run 
away  from  themselves  by  posting  to  the  springs,  and 
wnen  they  got  to  the  springs  behold  the  fountains 
ot  pleasure  were  dry,  no  music  nor  dancing,  no 
cards  nor  whist,  back  nor  forb  gammon,  no  courting 
nor  scandal,  no  marrying  nor  giving  in  marriage,  no 

nothinff.    for    mirth   wa«    ciiiar^«*.^^j     -_j    ^i__     1.. 

„.  .,„^  w«.cpw4i-ucu,  uuu  iiie    outer 


5 


GRANT  THORBURN. 


279 


18  Boven 
>n,  gam- 
tation  of 
)ver  lost 


r  struck 
lengei's 
1  (from 
es  and 
aw  but 
ynahleSf 
i  been 
3n,  but 
id  run 
gfs,  and 
mtains 
ng,  no 
)urting 
^g^Jj  no 
bitter 


waters  of  Mara  were  flowing  alone  in  tbeir  down- 
ward and  solitary  course;  our  friends  therefor© 
turned  the  faces  of  their  steeds  to  the  falls  of  Ni- 
agara, to  try  if  the  rushing  of  its  waters  would  drown 
the  voice  of  imaginary  care. 

But  to  return  to  the  women  in  the  cabin ;  there 
they  sat  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  from  breakfast  to 
dinner,  from  dinner  to  tea,  from  tea  till  the  suspen- 
sion of  hammocks,  in  all  the  torture  of  splendid 
misery ;  at  home  their  hands  had  never  been  idle, 
here  they  could  find  nothing  to  do ;  there  were  se- 
veral entertaining  volumes  on  the  table,  but  these 
ladies  did  not  belong  to  the  reading  community. 
(Now  you  observe,  that  a  great  many  hours  are  lost 
in  a  voyage  from  Buffalo  to  Schenectady  in  a  canal 
boat.)  One  day  I  took  a  book  and  sat  down  just  on 
the  line  between  the  ladies'  and  gertlemen's  cabin ; 
all  doors  were  open ;  I  looked  on  the  book,  and  list- 
ened to  a  dish  of  small  talk  which  was  soon  emptied ; 
hearing  all  still  and  some  of  them  beginning  to  nod 
on  their  chairs,  said  I,  ladies,  how  much  happier 
than  you  were  your  mothers  and  grand-mothers, 
w^hen  they  took  a  voyage  through  the  Tappan  sea  to 
Newburgh,  Wappengers  creek,  Catskill  or  Albany ; 
they  always  had  their  knitting  along ;  time  was  no 
burthen  on  their  shoulders ;  their  fingers,  their 
needles  and  their  tongues  kept  pace  ;  they  laughed 
and  they  sang,  they  were  happy  ;  as  they  were  im- 
proving time  they  had  no  wish  to  kill  time,  as  he 
new  fast  and  easily  away  of  himself;  they  said  it 


280 


REMINISCENCES   OF 


was  true,  but  times  are  altered,  it's  not  fashionable 
now-a-days. 

This  is  the  fact,  and  more  the  pity.    It  is  one  of 
the  evils  which  we  have  seen  under  the  sun  of  our 
past  twenty  years'  unexampled  prosperity.   We  have 
seen  the  daughters  of  purseproud  mechanics  and 
purseproud  merchants  jingling  a  Jew's  harp  and  a 
Turk's  harp,  a  spinnet  and  a  piano ;  but  they  never 
saw  a  knitting-needle;   they  cannot  mix  a  pot  of 
buckwheat  cakes ;  they  know  not  how  to  mend  a 
stocking,  or  to  put  the  apple  in  the  heart  of  the 
dumpling.    You  may  say  to  them,  as  captain  Van- 
derdonk  said  to  the  young  lady  you  read  of  in  Paul- 
ding's Dutchman's  Fireside,  when  she  said  she  was 
tired  doing  nothing;  said  he,  go  knit  stockings ;  said 
she,  I  know  not  how ;  said  he,  what  then  are  you  good 
for  ?    Forty  years  ago  wo  could  get  wives  by  paying 
the  minister  two  dollars,  that  corJd  cook,  wash,  knit, 
make,  mend,  and  do  a  great  many  etceteras  too  te- 
dious  to  mention.     Now  they  sometimes   pay  the 
minister  $500  for  getting  a  wife,  and  what  is  she 
good  for  1    As  she  cannot  knit,  you  must  pay  $300 
for  a  piano,  to  help  her  to  kill  time ;  $500  for  pin 
money,  to  play  baby-house  ;  $200  to  a  cook  to  make 
her  victuals ;  $200  to  a  woman  to  wash  her  clothes; 
$200  to  servants  to  sweep  the  rooms,  and  $700  per 
annum  for  a  cage  wherein  to  keep  this  sweet  sing- 
ing bird.    There  stands  an  immoveable  table  in  the 
centre  of  a  large  parlor;  on  the  centre  of  this  table 
—  — " -7  ...VI.--I1.-  -J*  j-ficuiwuo  wwUf  ciiiiio,  or  net- 


GRANT   THORBURN. 


231 


bionable 

I  one  of 
1  of  our 
V^e  have 
lies  and 
p  and  a 
ly  never 
pot  of 
mend  a 
of  the 
tin  Van- 
in  Paul- 
she  was 
^s;  said 
3u  good 
paying 
ih,  knit, 
too  te- 
3ay  the 
is  she 
ly  1^300 
for  pin 
0  make 
slothes ; 
00  per 
>t  sing- 
in  the 
is  table 
or  net- 


ted silver ;  in  this  bowl  are  deposited  pieces  of  gilt 
paper,  which  denote  that  Mrs.  A.  B.  and  Miss  C.  D., 
not  having  any  employment  at  home,  are  compelled 
to  go  round  the  streets  to  distribute  scraps  of  paper, 
and  make  a  little  small  talk.  Among  them  you  may 
find  these  words  ;  "  Mrs.  Whitesmith's  compliments 
to  Mrs.  Blacksmith,  will  be  at  home  on  Friday  even- 
ing, 7th  July,  at  8  o'clock."  Flatt.  This  is  what 
you  may  call  the  beautiful  simplicity  of  republicans. 
But  to  return  to  the  system  of  stocking  knitting. 
I  verily  believe  that  if  all  the  idle  women  in  town 
and  in  country,  in  steamboats,  tow-boats  and  canal- 
,boats,  were  immediately  to  commence  the-knitting 
of  etockings,  before  seven  months  the  balance  of 
trade  would  be  in  our  favor.  Now  I  think  the  sus- 
pension of  stocking  knitting  lies  deep  at  the  root  of 
this  evil.  In  the  good  old  federal  times,  when 
Washington  was  President,  his  lady  was  not  too 
proud  to  knit  stockings  for  her  general.  Then,  if  I 
remember  right,  we  had  only  two  hosiery  stores  in 
New- York,  one  kept  by  Mr.  Winslow,  No.  9  Wall- 
street,  and  one  by  Gibson,  hosier,  shaver  and  hair 
dresser,  Maiden-lane.  Now  look  at  this  picture  and  at 
that ;  here  we  have  upward  of  2,000  stocking  shops, 
in  which,  by  moderate  calculation,  three  hundred 
thousand  pairs  of  stockings  are  sold,  on  an  average, 
every  week  in  the  year.  Now,  is  not  this  same 
stocking  concern  sufficient  of  itself  to  kick  both  the 
beam  and  the  balance  of  trade  in  our  faces,  and  to 
counteract  the  whole  exportation  of  rice,  snulF  and 


282 


'EEMINISCENCBS   OP 


tobacco,  and  every  other  product  of  that  hot-headed 
clime  ?  In  the  unsophisticated  times  of  federalism, 
Washington  and  Adams,  the  balance  of  trade  was  in 
our  favor ;  bills  on  London  could  then  be  bought  at 
15  per  cent,  below  par,  making  a  broad  difference 
of  30  per  cent,  between  the  federal  and  democratic 
reigns.  Then  we  sent  our  flour  to  Europe  by  the 
hundred  thousand  barrels  per  annum,  since  that 
time  we  have  begged  from  the  hungry  Hessian  a 
bushel  of  wheat  or  a  chaldron  of  rye. 

"When  Washington  was  president  in  1794,  he  told 
Congress  that  the  best  way  to  preserve  peace  was 
to  be  always  prepared  for  war.  Acting  on  this  sound 
policy,  he,  Adams  and  the  federal  Congress,  had  pro- 
cured a  few  frigates  and  sloops  of  war;  in  one  of 
them,  Commodore  Truxton  in  the  West  Indies,  and 
Decator  at  Tripoli,  let  the  world  see  that  America 
could  not  only  build  and  sail  ships  equal  to  any,  but 
in  fighting  them  she  was  second  to  none.  The  year 
1801  was  the  first  year  of  the  reign  of  democracy, 
and  emphatically  the  first  year  of  the  age  of  experi- 
ments ;  a  set  of  fellows  who  had  never  seen  any 
thing  larger  than  a  birch  canoe,  sat  dreaming  and 
drinking,  and  smoking  and  sipping,  till  they  finally 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  a  coast  of  ten  thousand 
miles  and  ten  millions  of  tonnage  would  be  cheap- 
er, safer  and  more  easily  protected  by  a  few  gun- 
boats, than  they  could  by  a  dozen  of  frigates  and 
sixteen  seventy-fours.  Well,  the  frigates  were  sold— - 
gun-boats  built  and  sent  to  buffet  the  mighty  waves 


0«ANT  THOSBURN. 


283 


t-headed 
leralism, 
e  was  in 
ought  at 
ifference 
mocratic 
3  by  the 
ICO  that 
essian  a 

,  he  told 
ace  was 
is  sound 
had  pro- 
1  one  of 
lies,  and 
America 
any,  but 
he  year 
[jocracy, 
'  experi- 
3en  any 
ing  and 
y  finally 
bousand 
>  cheap- 
3W  gun- 
tes  and 
3  sold — 
r  waves 


of  the  Atlantic,  some  of  them  and  their  crews  met  a 
watery  grave,  and  thus  ended  the  first  experiment. 
The  next  experiment  was  to  destroy  the  old  United 
States  Bank,  that  the  people  might  have  leisure  to 
live  by  catching  fish  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers. 
The  same  experiment  is  now  in  the  full  tide  of  suc- 
cessful operation,  and  thousands  of  our  population 
are  catching  shrimps.  The  next  experiment  Was  a 
metallic  currency ;  this  might  be  intended  to  give 
employment  to  all  the  mules  and  jack-asses  on  the 
continent,  in  carrying  bags  of  dollars  and  panniers 
filled  with  gold,  by  W-ay  of  saving  the  expense  of  re- 
mitting by  mail.  - 


From  the  Botton  Courier. 
Adrertlsemeut  BxtraordlnaiT. 

Graitt  Thorburn— an  old  acquaintance— of  whom  we  have 
heard  nothing  for  some  years,  has  an  adveitisement  in  the  New- 
York  Commercial  Advertiser,  which  is  as  good  as  an  auto-biography. 
It  delighted  us  to  see  tho  honest  little  Scotchman  once  more  in 
print.  Pleasant  reminiscences  of  the  evening  and  the  morning  which 
he  once  spent  with  us  were  awakened,  and  imagination  brought 
back  the  tones  of  the  old  gentleman's  voice,  as  he  sung  Elgin, 
Martyrs,  and  Dundee.  It  is  not  our  custom  to  advertise  gratii,  but 
there  is  something  so  truly  characteristic  in  his  advertisement,  imd 
something  so  pleasant  withal  in  preservins:  a  memorial  nf  »n  clever  a 
specimen  of  humanity,  that  we  copy  it  without  further  preface. 


284 


BEMINI8CBNCB8   OF 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

In  1799  the  subscriber  commenced  business  with 
three  pots  of  geraniums,  a  monthly  rose,  and   16 
dollars'  worth  of  seed.    The  seeds  grew  till  they  fill- 
ed the  whole  continent— the  rose  blossomed  till  it 
spread  into  a  tree,  and  the  little  birds  formed  their 
nests  under  its  branches.   Presently  there  came  forth 
a  host  of  pretenders,  boasting  of  what  they  could  do; 
they  did  nothing.    In  1818  appeared  William  Cob- 
bett.    This  same  Cobbeft  in  1793,  '4  and  '5,  publish- 
ed the  Porcupine's  Gazette  in  Philadelphia ;  its  ob- 
ject waa  to  prove  to  a  demonstration  that  all  repub- 
lics were  humbugs— that  kings  only   had  a  divine 
right  to  reign— and  that  the  Americans  were  a  set 
of  consummate   rebels.    The   mob   tore  down  his 
office,  made  pi  of  his  types,  and  scattered  his  porcu- 
pine quills  in  their  native  air.    He  fled  to  England, 
returned  to  New- York  a  full-blooded  radical  Demo- 
crat,  and  opened   a  seed-shop  at  62  Pulton-street, 
where  he  sold  ruta  baga  at  one  dollar  per  pound,  and 
black  pigs  for  ten  dollars  each.    For  a  long  space  of 
time  you  could.hear  nothing  in  Wall  or  Exchange- 
streets  but  Cobbett  and  his  black  pigs— Cobbett  and 
his  ruta  baga.    The  consternation   was  similar  to 
that  at  Frankfort  when  the  man  rode  through  the 
streets  with  the  long  nose,  and  still  the  wonder  grew 
whether  the  nose  was  a  paper  or  Bftimmer  (wooden) 
nose.  Ko  vowed  be  would  drive  Thorburn  from  the 


GRANT  TRORBURNi 


285 


boarda  with  his  black  pigs  and  ruta  baga  in  less  than 
six  months.  Before  twelve  he  closed  the  concern, 
and  again  sailed  for  England.  Naked  he  came  into 
America,  and  naked  he  returned  from  thence;  his 
whole  goods  and  chattels  (a  few  minor  articles  ex- 
cepted) consisting  only  of  ruta  baga  and  smoked 
hams  from  the  hind  quarters  of  his  black  pigs ;  he 
shipped  one  case,  however,  which  by  some  estima- 
tion was  beyond  all  price,  viz.  a  rough  Albany  deal 
board,  formed  into  a  square  box,  and  in  this  box  was 
deposited  the  profound  skull  and  dry  bones  of  the 
venerated  Thomas  Paine,  author  of  "Common  Sense." 
&c.  Out  of  these  bones  Cobbett  meant  to  have  made 
political  capital,  but  they  were  seized  by  the  custom- 
house at  London  for  duty,  and  sunk  (if  report  speaks 
true)  in  the  deep  green  sea. 

From  this  subject  it  may  be  profitable  to  observe 
how  similar  are  the  movements  of  political  quacks 
in  all  countries  and  at  all  periods.  1  is  but  a  few 
years  since  that  our  political  jugglerd  turned  the 
world  upside  down  about  Morgan,  his  dry  bones  and 
split  skull ;  Louis  Philip,  too,  and  his  French  rad- 
icals, must  needs  parade  the  bones  of  Bonaparte 
wherewith  to  make  a  bank  political. 

But  enough   of  this  long  preamble.    It  is  only 

meant  to  let  his  friends  know  that  Grant  yet  lives 

his  eye  as  clear,  his  head  as  sound,  and  his  health  as 
good  as  in  1801— and  this  being  the  first  day  of 
Spring,  he  is  provided  with  the  usual  supply  of  goods 
(as  they  say  in  Pearl-street)   to  accommodate   his 


286 


BBVINISCBNCEfl  OF 


friends ;  and  his  being  only  a  branch  from  the  tree 
at  15  John-street,  the  seeds,  on  trial,  will  prove 
good.  American  and  European  Flower-seeds  just 
received.  Bouquets  prepared  for  the  ladies  in  the 
neatest  order.  Catalogues  gratis.  Gentlemen  sup- 
plied with  Gardeners,  &c.         Grant  Thobburn. 


4  , 


From  the  Philadelphia  Courier. 


Oa1t*a  liAurle  Todd. 


We  understand  that  a  new  edition  of  Gait's  "  Lau- 
rie Todd  "  will  be  published  in  a  day  or  two,  with 
explanatory  notes,  by  Grant  Thobburn,  the  well 
known  model  from  which  this  admirable  work  was 
wrought. 

In  relation  to  Grant  Thobburn,  we  were  recently 
indulged  with  the  perusal  of  a  letter  written  by  him 
to  a  friend  in  this  cityj  and  we  were  delighted  v/ith 
the  spirit  of  pious  thankfulness  for  the  good  he  has 
received,  it  breathes  throughout ;  and  no  less  so  by 
the  cheerfulness  and  kind-heartedness  also  exhibited 
by  this  venerable  philanthropist.  He  writes  that 
"  during  fifty  years  and  six  months  1  have  been  in 
America,  I  have  not  been  confined  by  sickness  one 
day.    If  I  live  to  see  the  18th  February  next  I  will 

nave    COmpletAd    (tiv   at*ye»nf\T.ao,f*ry.r%A    -.^^^m.     >~J    ^^.^ 


91ANT  TBOIBUBN. 


287 


*, 


my  bodily  feelings  are  as  comfortable  as  they  were 
on  the€ay  I  first  saw  America."  Truly  the  way^  of 
the  righteous  are  paths  of  peace.  And  long  may  his 
days  be  on  the  land  he  has  adorned  as  well  by  pre- 
cept as  by  example. 


VHK  END. 


